Our Story

Los Sagrados means "The Sacred Ones."

We are a horse and donkey sanctuary in El Pescadero, Baja California Sur. We help animals who have been unwanted, neglected, or abandoned find their way back to health. As they heal, they help the people who meet them heal too.

A desert scene with a barn, horses, cacti, and distant mountains.

Our Philosophy

Rescue
We are one of the only organizations in the area actively responding to calls about injured and at risk horses and donkeys. We have rescued over 200 animals since 2018.

Rehab
Every animal gets the same care, whether they stay a season or for life. Once food, water, and shelter are no longer a fight, real healing begins.

Rise
Our herd gives back through healing retreats and our children's empowerment programs. These exchanges heal us too, and build understanding around how animals deserve to be treated.

Meet the Herd's Humans

A woman with curly hair wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat and a yellow shawl, sitting on a wooden chair near a glass door with greenery and purple flowers outside.

Noel Bhavani Cianci
Founder and Facilitator

Bhavani is a kundalini yoga and meditation teacher, equine guide, and founder of Los Sagrados. With over 20 years of experience, she facilitates equine therapy and equine assisted learning, and is a certified life coach and reiki master. Her path has been shaped by study in the Four Agreements tradition with Don Miguel Ruiz, and by her spiritual roots with Sufi master Bawa Muhaiyaddeen. Before this life, she worked as a Hollywood celebrity stylist, and left that world behind for one rooted in service and healing. Today, she helps people reconnect with themselves through presence, connection with horses, and somatic healing.

A man standing outdoors with a brown horse, the horse appears to be nuzzling or licking the man's face, with desert plants and a fence in the background.

Juan Carlos Hernandez Ranch Manager

Juan Carlos was born in Veracruz and has lived in Pescadero for 21 years. He has cared for our horses since the ranch began in 2020 and lives onsite around the clock. Horses changed his life, and that pushed him to learn more about their care. As our ranch hand, he provides assisted medical care, grooming, and maintenance for the herd every day. Through the hottest summer days, he is the herd's hero.

A person on horseback wearing a white sleeveless top and wide-brimmed hat. An older man in sunglasses, a blue shirt, khaki pants, and gloves is standing beside the horse, adjusting or checking the horse's bridle in an outdoor riding arena.

John Larmour, Education Lesson Director

John bought his first horse as a total beginner. Fifty years later, horses are still the center of his life. He owned his own ranch in Big Sur and spent 14 years at Esalen managing the faculty. He has ridden and taught both English and Western styles, competed in three day eventing, endurance riding, foxhunting, steeplechase, and barrel racing, ridden in parades, performed at rodeos, and taken long pack trips into the wilderness. Today, John trains young horses and riders of all ages, with a focus on safety, communication, and mutual respect, making sure no horse and no rider gets left behind.

Make an Impact Today

  • DONATE TO OUR GOFUNDME

    DONATE TO OUR GOFUNDME

    Every dollar you give goes straight to the herd, feed, medical care, and shelter. Just one thing to watch for, GoFundMe defaults to a 17% tip for themselves at checkout. Set that to zero so your full gift goes to the animals.

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  • A person is holding the mouth of a gray and white speckled horse with a hand on the horse's lower jaw, under a wooden structure outdoors.

    AMAZON WISHLIST

    Every item you donate is delivered directly to Los Sagrados in El Pescadero, Baja California Sur, where it helps provide daily care, medical treatment, and comfort to rescued horses and burros.

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