# Branding?



## Nita (May 24, 2007)

hi everybody. i know this probably isn't a cruelty question, but i thought this was the best place. i just got a weanling qh filly and i was wondering, do you think i should brand her?? i mean hot brand, not freeze brand. if not, what should i do?? i buy all of my horses to keep forever, so selling isn't gonna be a problem. what do you guys think?


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## Horseknogg (Nov 15, 2007)

I have seen horses freeze branded and it is a lot less painfull then hot branding but it stands out a fair bit. Microchips are the best if you can keep them secure.If your always keeping your horse for ever then microchips are probably best.


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## Nita (May 24, 2007)

how much does getting a microchip cost? do you just have the vet do it?


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## TxHorseMom (Mar 4, 2007)

Personally I like the freeze branding the best. It doesn't really hurt the horse, and potential theives are wary of brands. A microchip, is useless unless you know it is there. For example, if a thief steals a horse with a freeze brand, (or any other type brand) then sells it to a kill buyer or takes it to a slaughterhouse, they are supposed to check all branded horses before killing them to be sure they aren't stolen. But, they don't check for microchips. 

So unless you were to find your horse in someones pasture or something and you were to say,(for example) "that's my horse and I can prove it, it has a microchip!" then it doesn't do you any good.

I guess the best protection would be a brand AND a microchip. Freeze brands aren't that expensive. Around here they cost between $15-$25 for one.


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## kailei_bailei (Dec 2, 2007)

Tx is right......brands tend to deter horse thieves so a brand would probably be better

i reckon that freeze branding would be better


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## Nita (May 24, 2007)

thank you guys!


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## Lc Performance Horses (May 3, 2008)

I micro chip and freezebrand. Branding...scortching red hot iron stuck to my skin...er no, give me the freeze brand which is not painfull...i know this personally from experimenting lol... and micro chipping is not painful. (if any of you have ever had warts or similar and have been subjected to liquid nitrogen...thats how it feels.)


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

TxHorseMom said:


> Personally I like the freeze branding the best. It doesn't really hurt the horse, and potential theives are wary of brands. A microchip, is useless unless you know it is there. For example, if a thief steals a horse with a freeze brand, (or any other type brand) then sells it to a kill buyer or takes it to a slaughterhouse, they are supposed to check all branded horses before killing them to be sure they aren't stolen. But, they don't check for microchips.
> 
> So unless you were to find your horse in someones pasture or something and you were to say,(for example) "that's my horse and I can prove it, it has a microchip!" then it doesn't do you any good.
> 
> I guess the best protection would be a brand AND a microchip. Freeze brands aren't that expensive. Around here they cost between $15-$25 for one.


How do you get your own brand made? If I was interested in getting a freeze brand for my mare with my initials and a crown or something, how would I go about making this? How much of a cost am I looking at?


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

I think the freeze brand is a good way to go.


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## .Delete. (Jan 7, 2008)

I honestly feel that unless you have a herd of horses or a horse business that you pride yourself on training and/or producing horses you have no reason to brand a horse.


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

.Delete. said:


> I honestly feel that unless you have a herd of horses or a horse business that you pride yourself on training and/or producing horses you have no reason to brand a horse.


haha I'd just use the brand when I have my barn full of champs


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## FGRanch (Feb 9, 2008)

Brands are always great for theft. We actually have a lot of that going on around here! 

Allie If you wanted to get a costume brand you would have to go to the Brand Inspector.


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

FehrGroundRanch said:


> Brands are always great for theft. We actually have a lot of that going on around here!
> 
> Allie If you wanted to get a costume brand you would have to go to the Brand Inspector.


I'm very interested in doing so... any idea if they have an office in Calgary?


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## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

All my horses are microchipped but I wouldn't mind getting a branding done on them as well. I don't know if it is possible to get them done.


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## Kentucky (Aug 2, 2008)

Branding, I know how to do it.
Microchip, you need a special tool to read it. and a person just look can't tell. 
Freeze breeding don't know enough about to say.


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## Kentucky (Aug 2, 2008)

What I meant to say was hot branding is the way i'd choose.


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## minihorse927 (Aug 11, 2008)

I would definitely go with freezebranding, it is really painless and turns the hair white on the brand by killing off the pigment to the hair follicle. Most registries who use freeze branding for identifying a horse use the alpha angle system, which is a system of branding a horse that can never be altered. It only uses numbers, and a symbol of the breed of the horse usually. The first symbol is the breed symbol, the second is a number, one number on top of the other, this is the year of birth of the horse. Then the registraion number to the animal. Some people freezebrand their own "symbol" on their horses but using the alpha angle system is the best way to do it, and on the left side of the neck. If this is a show horse, some breeds do not allow this kind of branding and will count against you for a horse having one.

Go to this link and it explains it all

http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/wild_horse_and_burro/adoption_of_wild_horses/freezemarks.print.html


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