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Stolen Horse International, Inc.
PO Box 1341
Shelby, NC 28151
(704) 484-2165
stolenhorse@netposse.com
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FREEZE BRANDING & HOW IT WORKS
By Debra Godbey
Why freeze brand?
There are several reasons to freeze brand, theft prevention is probably the largest. Freeze brands are highly visible, traceable and difficult to alter. Brands are attention “getters” and most thieves try to avoid this whenever possible. There could be as many as 40,000 horses stolen each year, the majority for resale at a quick profit. Other reasons to freeze brand are for identification, should your horse escape, or become lost during a disaster, being able to identify your horse will speed the process of recovery. It will also help in proving ownership when your horse is recovered.
What is Freeze Branding?
Freeze branding is a technique in which a super cold branding iron, properly applied to the animals hide, kills the color pigment producing cells. The result is that white or colorless hair instead of colored hair, grows at the brand site. Freeze branding is effective on both cattle and horses along with dogs. One advantage of freeze branding is that it produces a readable brand at any time of the year.
How does it work?
Under normal circumstances hair grows as a clear shaft from a growth follicle. On colored animals, pigment is added from the color follicle below the skin.
When the cold iron used in freeze branding is placed on the skin for the correct time and at the correct pressure, the cold destroys the color follicle at the brand site so the follicles no longer can produce pigment; however, the hair still continues to grow. The result is that hair at the brand site contains no pigment and appears white.
How does it work on white or light colored animals?
If the iron is held on for a longer period of time, the cold destroys the growth follicle so no hair grows at all. On light colored animals this bald brand is desirable because the dark skin with no hair shows up better than a white brand. In white animals the brand will show up bald but instead of the brand being black, in the case of light colored animals that have black skin, the brand will be pink, because the skin of the animal is pink. The bald black or pink brands are very noticeable especially when the hair is kept short at the brand site.
Where should I place the brand?
Care should be taken in selection of the brand site. Each state or county may have its 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. Once you have checked on the regulations for your State/County you will be told which branding sites are available and which are not. If no sites are taken you can brand on either hip, either shoulder, the jaw or the crest of the neck.
What is the Procedure
The irons are chilled in the desired coolant. The branding site is shaved with clippers using a #40 blade and the area is washed with alcohol, to keep the iron from sticking to the skin.
Immediately after the alcohol soak, the iron is placed squarely on the brand site. As the iron is pressed to the skin the stopwatch is started. The amount of time the iron is left on the skin will depend on several factors, the age of the animal, the thickness of the animals skin, the time of the year, the type of animal, the type of coolant chosen and the type of metal in the iron, .as well as the desired results i.e. white hair re-growth, or a bald brand.
What treatment is required after the branding?
Immediately after freeze branding you will see a frozen indentation in the animal’s skin. Within ten seconds the indentation will disappear – this will occur as the skin warms. The brand will not be visible as this happens. Within 5 minutes swelling will begin. Since the extreme cold from the iron has actually burnt, the swelling is from a water blister forming behind the brand site. The brand will be readable but the swelling will cause the mark to have two or three times the thickness of that the actual finished brand will have. The brand will be swollen for 48 to 72 hours. After the swelling dissipates 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. Full hair growth will depend upon the time of year the brand is applied. Since there is no open wound there is no treatment required. As the swelling disappears and a scab forms, the scab should be left to fall off naturally as pealing will create a wound.
What is the difference between Freeze Branding and Freeze Marking?
Freeze Marking is a process developed by Dr. R. Keith Farrell in 1966 at Washington State University. This process was known as Cyro Branding and later used by the Association ran by Mrs. Pat Farrell known as Kryo Kinetics. This system uses symbols, that when deciphered, translate back to numbers. In the case of registered horses, the alpha symbol used represents the registry and the subsequent symbols represent the horse’s registration number. The mark is placed only on the crest of the horse’s neck. For unregistered horses a number is selected along with a symbol to represent the State of residence.
Freeze Branding is any combination of letters, numbers or custom designs placed on the horse, usually the hip or shoulder but in some cases on the crest of the neck or jaw.
Either system is very effective as a deterrent from theft and for recovery purposes.
Does it hurt?
Animals show little reaction to the iron, indicating that freeze branding is relatively painless. It is believed the extreme cold from the iron immediately deadens the nerves. If a horse will stand for electric clippers or for the farrier… he will generally stand quietly for branding. Some horses are not comfortable with strangers and they seem to react more to the presence of the brander than to the procedure itself.
When should I freeze brand?
Anytime of the year is suitable. Foals can be branded over the age of 6 weeks and it is safe for mares in foal.
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About Debra Godbey:
Debra has owned horses for 30 years, breeds, trains and shows cutting and cow bred horses. She has fifteen years experience freeze branding for both the Federal Government and Kryo Kinetics Assoc., of AZ. She has freeze branded and freeze marked upward of 2,000 horses. Her career helped her to travel extensively throughout the United States conducting welfare checks on horses as well as branding appointments. She is an Instructor in Health Care and Horse management, conducting clinics and seminars to help aid and educate individuals in the basics of equine health care, & has partnerships with several animal rescue groups. Debra was fortunate enough to be a presenter at the Southern Horse Festival, Raleigh NC and is on the schedule to present again at the Ohio Equine Affaire in Columbus in April. Also she is an American Humane Society Investigator for Horse Abuse. Debra & her family live in Oklahoma; they operate two businesses, Double D Freeze Branding, and, The Glass Cabinet, where they sell custom sandblast glassware.
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