News and Information
ND NWBRA Incentives
Thanks to an agricultural community minded sponsor like
Butler Machinery, we are excited to present an incentive
for ND barrel racers to join and sanction their barrel races
with NWBRA!
A
generous donation has allowed us to produce a one-day ND NWBRA
finals as a warm up for the National NWBRA finals in Gillette,
WY. We will have a one-run, sudden death finals in a 4D
format with half second splits all the way down. There
will be $1000 added for ANYONE and an additional $500 as a FREE
sidepot for NWBRA members from any state. North Dakota
NWBRA contestants will ALSO compete for elite-quality Jessie
Jaymes buckles (valued at over $300 each) in EACH OPEN DIVISION!
FAQ:
Q: When and
where will this fabulous event take place?
A: Look for
a late August to Mid-September date, with a TBA location in SW
North Dakota.
Q: How do I
join NWBRA and how much does it cost?
A: Download
a
membership form
from NWBRA and mail it in, OR sign up at any NWBRA approved
event. We will have a booth and take your membership at
the Triple Turn Classic in Bowman April 23-24! Membership
is $50 per year, which includes a subscription to the Wrangler
Magazine.
Q: How do I
qualify for the Finals?
A: To
qualify for the ND NWBRA finals, just buy a membership.
There is no other qualification and no state fees. For the
NWBRA Finals in Gillette, buy your membership AND attend 4 NWBRA
sanctioned events (sorry, running 2 head of horses at 2 events
doesn't work- you must attend 4 separate events).
Q: How
do I sanction my event with NWBRA and what does it cost?
A: Any
member of NWBRA can sanction their event. You can use your
own rules, time splits and payout (although a payout of 75% or
higher is encouraged). It costs $25 per event for the
first 4 and $15 per event for each event after that. Print
a
sanctioning form
from the website, complete it and mail it in with the
appropriate fees. After the race, you have seven days to
submit results (with payout attached, please) and $1 per run for
each sanctioned division.
Q: How do I
find NWBRA sanctioned events?
A:
Advertising is free! Go to the calendar at
www.NWBRA.com
for complete listings OR check out your Wrangler magazine.
You can attend jackpots in any state to qualify for the Finals
in Gillette.
More
questions? Your
ND NWBRA directors
are
Brenda Rettinger
and Alyssa Bruner.
North Dakota requires a
health and brand inspection on all out of state horses. North
Dakota horses need to be brand inspected when they leave ND and
again to RETURN.
Make life simpler with a $10 Lifetime brand inspection.
Different Brands of Horses
With the theft of expensive horses becoming more common
and thieves becoming bolder, owners may want to consider branding
their horses. It is relatively quick to do and with advancing
techniques has become much more comfortable for the horse. Branding
is an inexpensive form of permanent identification that has been
around for centuries. Contrary to popular rumor, brands are not
easy to alter, and are generally not altered inconspicuously.
The
first step to getting your horse branded is to check with your state
Department of Livestock or Stockmen’s Association. You’ll need to
ensure that the brand you choose is legally available and find out
what the brand laws are for your area.
When
selecting and registering a brand, make sure you include alternate
choices for the brand characters and location of the brand on the
animal. While intricate designs and shapes might seem appealing
now, keep in mind how they will look on the animal, and how easily
the brand will apply. Irons with several twists and turns are
difficult to achieve a neat, even look when stamping to your horse’s
hide.
Irons
can be made of any material that will conduct extreme temperatures.
Brass and copper are superior to steel for applying even freeze
brands on horses. There are many companies nationwide that will
build an iron to match the characters of your brand. The internet
is a good source for finding a qualified brand craftsman.
After
you have selected your brand, registered it with state authorities,
chosen the type of brand you want and had your irons constructed,
it’s time to decide how you want to stamp your horse.
A hot
iron brand kills the entire hair follicle, which basically results
in a scarred area in the shape of your brand. With a properly
applied hot brand, the hair does not grow back in. A freeze brand,
when done correctly, kills the hair pigment cells first and causes
the hair to grow back in white. When contact time is lengthened,
freeze brands will kill the entire follicle, which results in a
hairless brand.
When
applying a hot iron brand to a horse, cattle irons are not
recommended. Horses are thinner hided and will scar and blotch
easily. An iron made of number nine wire or light gauge steel will
make a much neater hot iron brand.
You may find it
helpful to clip away the longer hair when branding a horse with a
hot iron brand. This allows a better view, and lessens the
likelihood of fires while branding. Making sure the horse is
properly sedated or restrained, apply the heated iron with about 20-
30 pounds of even pressure. Elapsed time will depend on the heat of
your iron. When done correctly, the fresh hot brand should be the
color of tanned leather. It should not be blistered, as blistering
can cause scarring that may blotch the brand.
Hot
iron brands with small, enclosed circles, such as those on the
letters “B,” “R,” and “P” are more prone to burning and blotching.
Blotched brands are not attractive, nor are they easy to read.
Freeze brands are often times more “forgiving” than hot iron
brands.
There
are a couple of different approaches to applying a freeze brand,
depending primarily on the preference of the brander. Some people
have good luck with dry ice as the cooling source. Dry ice is
usually easy to find and relatively safe to work with. It is
generally used with steel, brass or copper irons.
Liquid
nitrogen can also be used as a source to chill branding irons. It
may be harder to locate, but most inseminating or embryo transfer
business will have it on hand. Care must be used, as liquid
nitrogen will instantly freeze anything it touches. A banana will
freeze hard enough to shatter upon impact after just a few seconds
of emersion in liquid nitrogen.
Whether you use dry ice, liquid nitrogen or the commercial “aerosol”
freeze branding cans (to be used with stencils), preparation of the
horse during freeze branding is the same. Clip the area to be
branded (about twice the size of the brand) as close to the skin as
possible. A #40 or #50 blade will do a nice job, but a disposable
razor will give you the same effect. Wash the area well. Any dirt
or skin oil will reduce the conductivity of the cold iron, and may
result in patches that “don’t take.” Finally, swab the area
carefully with 95% alcohol to remove any residual oils. Leave a
“layer” of alcohol on the skin to promote good transfer with the
cold iron.
Irons
should be chilled sufficiently. You will find that the nearly all
aspects of freeze branding with dry ice take longer than when using
liquid nitrogen. Liquid nitrogen will “boil” when irons are
initially submerged. Once the bubbling is minimal, you are ready to
brand your horse. Again, make sure the horse is properly sedated or
restrained. A freeze brand is not a terribly painful process, but
it can be scary. It is often useful to blindfold the horse, as
liquid nitrogen and dry ice can involve a lot of “smoke.” Using
30-40 pounds of pressure on the iron, place it evenly on the shaven
hide. Use a slow, gentle rocking motion to ensure that all angles
of the brand receive adequate contact. Take care not to wrinkle the
skin. A helper with a stopwatch is useful as freeze brands using
liquid nitrogen take mere seconds. A good rule of thumb is that
darker hided horses require less contact time that lighter horses
do. For a dark horse, liquid nitrogen and a copper or brass iron
contact time is about 7-8 seconds. Allow an additional second for
stainless steel irons or horses known to be “tough hided.” For grey
or white horses, leave the iron on the skin for about 12 seconds.
This will produce a hairless brand as the entire follicle is
destroyed by the extended period of cold. Contact time is
significantly longer when using dry ice (up to 30 seconds).
How do
you know you did it right? As soon as you remove the iron, you
should notice an indented copy of the iron in the horse’s skin.
Within ten minutes, this area will swell, and you should see a neat
raised area where the brand has been placed. The swelling will be
gone in a few days, and with in a couple of weeks to a month, the
skin in the brand area will peel or shed. The hair in the branded
area should grow in white, and full regrowth should be noticed in
about 3 months.
Regardless of how you choose to
identify your horse, remember to check brand and health laws in
states that you travel to or through. Make sure you carry proper
paperwork on your horses when hauling. It may take a few hours to
line up, but it can prevent stiff fines, traveling stall-outs and
even jail time!
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