How do you read a standardbred freeze brand?
The first line includes the S denoting the horse as a Standardbred, followed by the code for the state in which the horse was born and then the last two digits of its year of birth. The second line denotes its 4 digit registration number.
How do I know if my horse is a standardbred?
To identify your Standardbred, the USTA offers a free basic information search: Free Horse ID Search If you need additional help, simply call the USTA offices. Please have as much information available as you can, including freeze brand, microchip number or lip tattoo, color, sex, white markings, etc.
How do I find out what brand my horse is?
If you think a horse came from a different area you can contact the brand inspection board for the state that you are interested in. The brand department is usually under the jurisdiction of the state’s department of agriculture. These professionals have the records to check to find out who owns the brand in question.
What is a freeze brand on a horse?
Brands are a commonly used means to identify individual horses as an aid in farm management and as a theft deterrent. Freeze branding, also called cryogenic branding, uses extreme cold to alter the growth of the hair in the brand contact area.
How long does a freeze brand last?
As the brand is applied, melanocytes (pigment-producing cells in the skin) are destroyed, and subsequent hair growth is white. New hair growth should appear in two to three months. Over time, freeze brands may fade, so consider an additional form of identification, such as tattooing, as a backup.
How much does it cost to freeze brand?
Freeze branding takes about 3 to 10 minutes per head and costs about $0.05 per head or less when using dry ice.
Can you brand a human?
Human branding or stigmatizing is the process by which a mark, usually a symbol or ornamental pattern, is burned into the skin of a living person, with the intention that the resulting scar makes it permanent. This is performed using a hot or very cold branding iron.
What is Freeze marked?
Involves a cold branding iron being held on the skin for 7-10 seconds in dark horses to make a white mark, or 12-15 in lighter horses to destroy the hair growth follicles and make a bald mark.
What is average size horse freeze brand?
For horses we recommend 4″ with 1/4 face. Custom freeze brands are currently priced at $95 for 4″ and smaller sizes. Brands larger than 4″ but within 5″ are priced at $105. Brands larger than 5″ but within 6″ are priced at $115.
Do horses feel pain when branded?
Hot-iron branding hurts horses. YOU MAY HAVE HAD AN INKLING – Study proves hot-iron branding to cause horses more pain than microchip injections. Hot-iron branding is more painful than using a microchip injection. 5000 horses are branded each year in Denmark.
Is freeze branding better than hot branding?
Freeze branding can be an advantage over hot-iron branding because the marks are easier to see from a distance.
Is freeze branding safe?
Freeze branding has its advantages and disadvantages. Compared to fire and electric branding, it is a rather safe and painless method that leaves less damage compared to others. You can also trace your animal easily if they are freeze branded because the brand is visible at any season during the year.
Why is freeze branding used?
While hot iron branding is used to make a neat, legible scar on the surface of the hide, the goal with freeze branding is to convert hair pigmentation to white in a legible manner. Freeze branding destroys the natural pigments in hair, producing white hair growth.