History

Modern usage

Freeze branding

Symbols in branding

Originally, livestock branding only referred to the practice of burning a mark on livestock using a hot iron, though the term is now also used to refer to other alternative techniques such as freeze branding, ear tagging, and RFID tagging. In the American west, it has evolved into a complex marking system still in use today.

Originally the word brand meant anything hot or burning, such as a fire-brand, a burning stick; by the European Middle Ages it commonly identified the process of burning a mark into a stock animal with a thick hide, such as a cow, so as to identify ownership under animus revertendi. In the American West, a branding iron consisted of an iron rod with a seal-like mark which ranchers heated in a fire. After the branding iron turned red-hot, the rancher pressed the seal-like marker against the hide of the cow. The unique mark meant that the cow could then graze freely among other cattle on the free-range of the American West. Drovers could then separate the cattle at round-up time for driving to market. These customs of the American West evolved from the practices of the vaqueros.

Free-range grazing is less common today than in the past. However, branding still has its uses. The main purpose is in proving ownership of lost or stolen animals. Many western US states have strict laws regarding brands, including brand registration and required brand inspections. In many cases, a brand on an animal is considered prima facie proof of ownership.

The Branding Iron is the school newspaper of the University of Wyoming.

In contrast to traditional hot-iron branding, freeze branding uses a branding iron that has been chilled with a coolant such as dry ice or liquid nitrogen. Rather than burning a scar into the animal, a freeze brand damages the pigment producing hair cells, causing the animal's hair to grow white where the brand has been applied. Freeze brands cause less damage to the animal's hide than hot iron brands, are less painful, and they can be more visible. Horses are frequently freeze-branded. At this time, hogs cannot be successfully freeze branded as their hair pigment cells are better protected. Also, freeze branding is slower, more expensive, and less predictable (more care is required in application to assure desired results).

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Most brands in the United States are capital letters, numerals, other characters (such as slash, circle, half circle, cross, and bar), and combinations thereof. Brands of this type have a specialized language for "calling" the brand. Some owners prefer to use simple pictures; these brands are called using a short description of the picture (e.g., "rising sun"). Brands are called left to right, top to bottom, and outside in.

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