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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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