Wind Horse’s animals remain skittish around humans, having been abused by previous owners,
but make eye contact with Dorothy Jimenez.
Joshua Hardin

Battered, bruised and emaciated from starvation, Decker needed help. The once-majestic horse, neglected by his owner, had been trapped in a fence for four days. He couldn’t cling to life much longer.

A passionate horse lover since age 3, Seneca Corey desperately wanted to save Decker. So she did what did what any fierce, determined teenager would do – she brought him home and begged her mother to let him stay.

That’s all it took for Dorothy Jimenez to realize her daughter’s love of horses was more than a passion; it was a true calling. Dorothy had recently purchased 38 acres near the Larimer County town of Livermore, about 45 minutes north of Fort Collins. They had plenty of room to add Decker to their existing small herd of horses that Seneca rode in competition. Before long, Decker was joined by four other neglected, severely frostbitten horses who had been destined for the auction block. Dorothy and Seneca’s home had quickly become a hospice for equines who could live out their remaining days in comfort, roaming the expansive pastures with full bellies, some of them for the first time in their lives.

As their herd grew, Dorothy and Seneca hatched a plan to create a nonprofit horse sanctuary, in order to raise the crucial funds needed to take care of the horses, and have the option of saving others in the future. It seemed that vision died with Seneca, who perished in a 2021 car accident. Through their intense grief and heartbreak, Dorothy and her husband, Jason, launched the sanctuary in Seneca’s honor in late 2021.

“After Seneca died, knowing that her horses needed me was the only thing that got me out of bed each morning,” Dorothy said through her tears. “Moving ahead with the sanctuary was our way of carrying on her legacy.”


Monte greets Jason Jimenez, husband to Dorothy and co-founder of the sanctuary.
Dorothy Jimenez

IT’S NOTORIOUSLY WINDY on the high plains six miles from the Wyoming border, so “Wind Horse” seems an apt name for the sanctuary. Yet the name is a Buddhist allegory for the human soul. “Seneca’s soul and passion and purpose are everywhere I look,” Dorothy said. “To me, it’s the perfect name.”

It’s the “nonprofit” part of Wind Horse that isn’t perfect, at least not yet. Despite the sanctuary’s nonprofit status, donations cover only about 10 percent of operating costs. A large donation from some friends in 2021 allowed Dorothy and Jason to build additional shelters and fence in 20 more acres. Yet the cost of 100 or more 70-pound bales of hay per month, plus special grain mash, and the constant vet and farrier bills is completely out of pocket and slows down the couple’s ambitions.

When asked if they can take more animals, Dorothy and Jason say “no” for now, until they have the funds to build more shelters and fence in more of their 38 acres. They’re committed to giving the animals they have the room to run, the highest-quality hay and grain, and access to some of the finest veterinarians in the world [at Colorado State University]. “It wouldn’t be fair to our herd for us to take on more until we’re ready,” Jason said.


Nine horses and four donkeys roam in safety on 38 acres of Colorado rangeland
– their forever home – near Livermore, south of the Wyoming state line.
Dorothy Jimenez

Winter has arrived at the sanctuary, and the sunrise doesn’t bloom on the horizon as early as Dorothy would wish. So, each frigid morning, it’s pitch black as she trudges through the snow on the way to the barn. She easily navigates the sloppy, slippery 100 yards by heart, though, since she has been making the trek for years.

After Dorothy cleans the stalls, she feeds all 13 animals their breakfast and administers any medications they may need. Old Bay, a former barrel-racing horse, is approaching 30, and dementia has set in. So, when he just stands there at mealtime, looking around in a daze, it’s his pal Beulah who moves closer to him, nudging him gently towards the food. Old Bay and Beulah have been living side by side since they were just a few years old, and they were welcomed into the sanctuary family when their previous owner died. Missing their teeth makes hay impossible to eat, so they get a special mash of grain and beet pulp.

Coaxing Pierre, Primo, Pasquel and Paco to mealtime is left up to Dorothy. The four wild donkeys were rescued from the Bureau of Land Management in 2022 in memory of the one-year anniversary of Seneca’s death in September, and they’re still learning to trust Dorothy and Jason as their humans. After more than a year, Pasquel, the shyest one, is finally coming close enough to accept treats.

“Now he seems to think I’m a walking Pez dispenser,” Dorothy said.

Each day at the sanctuary is a little different, yet there are comforting routines for Dorothy and for the nine horses and four donkeys. There’s no shortage of daily escapades, either. Although it took Decker more than a year to accept treats from Dorothy or Seneca, he’s now the clown of the group, with no qualms about knocking the hat off your head or chewing the gloves in your pocket. “He also likes to ‘help’ us when we’re watering the herd, by taking the hose out, every time,” Dorothy said. “Of course, he always ends up spraying us in the process.”

Royal, one of the frostbitten horses, is now the one Dorothy calls the sweetest of the bunch, though Royal also knows how to sneak around the side of the barn at feeding time and swipe extra treats when he thinks his humans and his fellow residents aren’t watching. And then there’s Peanut, a miniature horse who has somehow learned how to escape his pasture, and he always comes back covered in burrs. Dorothy suspects he does it just so she has to spend hours brushing him.

After Dorothy heads back inside for her day job as a mental-health therapist, counseling patients virtually, it’s Jason’s turn with the herd. His 10-hour (or longer) all-outdoors workday starts around 9 a.m., rain, shine or blizzard.

Though Jason had zero experience with horses before reconnecting with Dorothy in 2020 (they both grew up in Estes Park), he was an instant natural. His passion for saving these loving animals is fierce enough that he now devotes himself to them full-time. “If we hadn’t rescued them, they would have had to endure a grueling, four-day ride to a kill pen in Mexico, where they would have been eaten or made into dog food,” he said.

Before Jason begins his work each day, he must give a handsome horse named Baby some attention and kisses, otherwise Baby will block his path until he does. Then he goes about tending to the herd’s many needs, like brushing them, breaking up the ice in the frozen water troughs, exercising the animals that need help moving, clearing the pastures and moving hay. As sundown approaches, Dorothy joins him outside, and the mealtime and medication routines begin anew.

Horse lovers can call ahead to visit the sanctuary, but the experience might not be all they expect. As they approach the fence to offer a carrot, they’ll see that the animals aren’t trained for human visitation. Horses sense human emotion 10 times more intensely than dogs, Jason said, and it was humans who neglected them, so they’re hesitant.

Though most of the equines at Wind Horse Sanctuary are still skittish and unsure because of what happened in the past, there is a definite look of contentment in all 13 pairs of eyes, as though they instinctively know they’re being lovingly taken care of.

Their two human caregivers are just as content, it seems. Jason feels intense separation anxiety if he ever leaves the ranch; he’d rather be with the herd all day, every day.

As for Dorothy, she’s always happiest when she’s outside with the animals, even if it’s scooping poop. And naturally, being with them and tending to their needs always keeps her feeling close to Seneca.

“I’m so grateful I’ve had Seneca’s horses to help me through the pain of losing her,” she said. “I’m also grateful that I was able to rescue even more animals in her honor. They give me a true sense of peacefulness, and of purpose.”