Before branding, care should be taken in selection of the site to be branded. Each state or county may have it's own regulations regarding the placement of the brand on the animal. Be sure to check with your county clerk, county extension agent or state brand inspection agency about branding and brand ownership regulations. Here in Smith County, Texas, there are no restrictions on the site area. It is recommended that you register your brand with the county (the fee is minimal) so that livestock with that brand can be traced back to you.
*PREPARATION*
Thanks to Robert & Justin Eckeberger for letting me use their horses for these demonstration pictures! THANKS, GUYS!
After the desired branding irons are selected, they are placed in a styrofoam container with liquid nitrogen. The liquid nitrogen will cool to a temperature of approximately 240 to 250 degrees below zero.
*CLEAN SITE AREA*
The site area is to be free of foreign material. At times a bristle brush is used to remove any dirt. Room temperature alcohol is then squirted onto the site to remove some skin oils and help transfer the cold of the branding iron to the skin.
*BRAND APPLICATION*
Immediately after the alcohol soak, the appropriate branding iron is
removed from the liquid nitrogen and pressed firmly on the shaved brand site. The time the iron is applied to the site ranges from 6 to 12 seconds on horses and 21 to 30 seconds on cattle. Time on the light colored animals may run up to 45 seconds per branding iron used. Generally, a stop watch is used to help make sure each branding iron is applied for the same amount of time for a more
uniform brand.
Immediately after the freeze branding, you will see a frozen indentation in the skin of the animal. Within five minutes, the indentation will disappear and swelling will begin. The brand will be readable but the swelling will cause the mark to have two to
three times the thickness of the actual finished brand. The brand will be swollen for 48 to 72 hours. After the swelling disappears, the brand may not be easily seen. About 20 to 30 days the brand will begin to get flaky and scaly. By the third or fourth week, the scab will start to turn loose. Once the scab is gone, white, peach fuzz type hair should appear in 30 days. Full hair growth will depend on the time of year the brand is applied.
Freeze branding presents limited stress on the animals and there is no risk of infection as in using hot/fire brands which burn through the animal's skin. Horses can be used immediately after the freeze branding process as it will not make them sore like the fire brands.
The brand site is clipped as square as possible, to aid in square placement of the brand. The site should be dried if the
horse has been sweating or is wet from rain or washing.
