$86,910 raised by 400 donors
43% complete
$200,000 Goal
Where Land, Horses, and Humans Heal Together.
A Sanctuary of Meaningful Connection and Living Presence — a place where horses become teachers, land becomes medicine, and people remember who they are.
Journey with Equus at Raison d’Être Ranch is a sanctuary and equine-partnered wellness center — home to more than 100 horses who originally came from the slaughter pipeline, high risk auctions,, and owner surrenders.
We are not a rescue facility.
While many of our horses were saved from high-risk situations, our mission is not just to take horses in — it is to give them a life of dignity, peace, and purpose for the rest of their days.🐎
Our Mission Is Twofold
1. Redefining the Value of the HorseWe believe the greatest gift a horse offers is not found in being ridden, but in their emotional presence, energetic awareness, and ability to help humans reconnect to themselves.By helping people see the higher value of horses beyond breeding and performance, we hope to create a culture where more horses stay in their homes for a lifetime — honored as companions, teachers, and sentient beings with purpose.
2. Equine-Partnered Wellness for HumansHorses live in the present moment. They read energy before words. They respond to congruence, not performance — making them natural mirrors for human nervous system awareness and emotional alignment.
Through experiential, trauma-informed equine wellness sessions, participants learn to:
Slow down and reconnect to their internal signalsRegulate their nervous systems through co-regulation with horses
Build emotional resilience, trust, and personal leadership through presence rather than force
We offer scholarship-supported access for:
At-risk youthFamilies and individuals in emotional distress
First responders, caregivers, veterans and those carrying unseen burdens
And we proudly partner with Sandstone to provide experiential equine wellness outings for teens, giving them a safe and empowering space to regulate, connect, and build emotional strength through the presence of horses.
We also work with teams, entrepreneurs, and leadership groups, using equine-partnered sessions to help them develop deeper self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and authentic leadership — the kind that cannot be learned in a classroom.🌾
A Sanctuary for Horses — A Sanctuary for People
At Journey with Equus, horses are not here to be used — they are here to be honored.
They live in sanctuary, and they serve through presence, not labor.
What began as a place to give unwanted horses a forever home has evolved into a living model of how horses, land, and humans can heal together.❤️
This is not a rescue. This is a sanctuary.
A place of healing — for horses, for humans, and for the land.
Journey with Equus
"Where Healing Begins"
We are blessed to do what we do,
Made possible due to the amazing support of the public.
Liberty's Legacy Inc. dba Journey with Equus is an approved 501c3 Non Profit Organization Tax Id 47-487898
To raise awareness around the gifts that equines have to give outside of being ridden
To build a compassionate, caring organization that is driven to help save the lives of at risk equines and change the lives of people.
Through healing, horses and humans are able to embrace and share their gifts with the world. We raise awareness to the gifts horses have to share outside of being ridden. People are equipped to unpack their baggage, heal and move towards a positive future. They are then emboldened to step into their truth, claim their power and shine their light out into the world - thus becoming an inspiration for others to do the same. We are creating a ripple effect, through which we can start to help heal the world one life at a time. We focus on bringing people and horses together under one organization and our JWE (Journey with Equus) community commits to having impact, living a legacy and changing lives, so that we leave the world a better place than we found it.
Founded in 2015, by Candice Ensign. and officially named a 501(3)c non profit organization in 2015,
Journey with Equus started out as a traditional rescue, with focus on helping abandoned and at risk horses rehabilitate and find homes. What showed up was a need for the horses that were not a fit for rehoming to have a safe place to land and get a second chance.
The Founders childhood and young adult experiences with horses profoundly influenced her mission for the organization. Her love for these majestic creatures and her background in coaching sparked an innovative idea, the idea of helping the horses who are not rideable, rehabilitate and then partner with human coaches to help those in need.
Today Journey with Equus continues to focus on the unhomable, and is continually building programs to help people heal, rediscover themselves and move towards a brighter future.
Located on the beautiful 120 acres sanctuary know as Raison d’Etre, in Elizabeth CO
Journey with Equus is where healing begins
Organization name
Journey with Equus Horse Rescue & Sanctuary
other names
Journey with Equus
2016
Tax id (EIN)
47-4878985
Category
Animal-Related, Human Services
Organization Size
Medium Organization
Address
2470 Driftwood CircleParker, CO, US
Castle Rock, CO, US
Elizabeth, CO, US, 80107
Denver, CO, US
Aurora, CO, US