tin man & scarecrow

In 2020, we were rescuing horses from a kill pen in Kansas, so names from the Wizard of Oz seemed fitting. Tin Man was six years old and Scarecrow was seven. While we were rescuing the former, the latter showed up, so we sent them to Quarantine together. We added one more mustang, an elderly mare named Dorothy, and they set out on the Yellow Brick Road to Skydog.

Tin Man and Scarecrow bonded as often happens with pairs that go through so much trauma together. They leaned on each other for comfort in their fear and confusion. That bond has never been broken or even slightly bent, they remain inseparable.

Tin Man was rounded up from Little Owyhee, Nevada. Totally wild and unhandled with zero curiosity about humans, he was deemed dangerous by the kill pen. Sanctuary was exactly what he needed. We never turn our backs on a “plain brown horse” at auctions. They are diamonds in the rough that just need a little polish to glisten. With good nutrition, kindness, and freedom, Tin Man looks spectacular with his thick black tail and light tones under his flanks that shine in the winter sun. In a herd with lots of bays and sorrels, where he prefers to stay in the background, you can locate him by his proximity to Scarecrow.

Scarecrow was rounded up from Divide Basin, Wyoming when he was three years old. As they say in the Emerald City, he’s “a horse of a different color!” An appaloosa, his coat is ever-changing. It’s like having four horses in one as he looks different in each season of the year. I imagine God mixed colors with a brush to paint him like the Milky Way with thousands of stars across the canvas. Like his namesake, Scarecrow is gentle, sweet, and can be a little goofy and playful. He’s incredibly curious and loyal. As much as he loves Mrs. Pastures Cookies, we don’t see him up close all that often. Tin Man prefers to be out of sight and Scarecrow stays by his side.

They started out with a herd of gentle boys. Tin Man never stopped being a wild horse, while it was all coming back to Scarecrow. When the 2000 acres of Spring Valley were ready to open to the herds, Scarecrow & Tinman were among the first mustangs to migrate over to graze in an endless sea of grasses.

You’re not in Kansas anymore, Tin Man & Scarecrow. You are home - and there’s no place like home.

#skydogtinman   #skydogscarecrow

American Mustangs and Burros Need Your Help

In addition to supporting our work by donating, becoming a patron on Patreon, or sponsoring a Skydog, there are several important pieces of legislation to protect American equines currently moving through Congress. It only takes a few minutes to contact your Rep and two Senators to urge them to support these bills. You can Contact Members of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121‬, submitting contact forms on their individual websites, or sending one email to all three simultaneously at www.democracy.io

Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act of 2025 (H.R.1661 in the House and S.775 in the Senate). This bill would amend the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, commonly known as the “Farm Bill”. There are several important provisions for animals in that omnibus federal law, including the Cat and Dog Meat Trade Prohibition Act. It is currently illegal to slaughter, transport, possess, purchase, sell, or donate dogs and cats, or their parts, for human consumption. The SAFE Act would extend the ban to equines and shut down the slaughter pipeline that sends some 20,000 American horses and donkeys to savagely monstrous deaths in foreign slaughterhouses every year.

The Wild Horse & Burro Protection Act of 2023 (H. R. 4356) The bill would eliminate the use of helicopters in rounding up wild horses and burros, and require a study into alternative methods for humanely gathering the animals.

Ejiao Act of 2025 (H.R. 5544). To ​​ban the sale or transportation of ejiao, a gelatin made from boiling donkey skins, or products containing ejiao in interstate or foreign commerce, which brutally kills millions of donkeys primarily for beauty products and Chinese medicine.

See our How to Help menu for other actions to ban zebra hunting at US canned hunt ranches and stop production of Premarin & other PMU drugs.