K Bar M Freezebranding

Clint, Texas
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THE FREEZE BRAND PROCESS
The following information outlines the Freeze Brand process.

Selecting and preparing the Brand site


Before branding, care should be taken in selection of the site to be branded. Each state or county may have it's 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.

When branding on the shoulder, be sure the iron head is not partially on a thinner muscle mass over the scapula with the remainder if the iron head on a heavier, deeper muscle mass not covering bone. Unequal head pressure can produce a nonuniform brand. This situation can also arise when branding on the butt, a portion of the branding iron head is partially on the rear of the pelvic bone and the remainder is on the muscle below.

Clean the brand site of foreign material. Clip the brand site as square as possible, particularly at the bottom, to aid in square placement of the brand. Thoroughly dry the brand site if the animal is sweating or is wet form the rain or washing.

Squirt room temperature alcohol over the brand site thoroughly covering the entire shaved area. This removes some skin oils and helps transfer cold from the iron head to the skin.

Immediately after the alcohol soak, quickly remove the appropriate iron from the container, align it properly and firmly press the iron squarely on the brand site.

POST BRANDING RESULTS

Immediately after freeze branding you will see a frozen indentation in the animals skin. Within five minutes the indentation will disappear and swelling will begin. The brand will be readable but the swelling will cause the mark to have two or three times the thickness 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 in 30 days. Full hair growth will depend upon the time of year the brand is applied.

BRANDS ARE PERMANENT IDENTIFICATION!

There are ear tags. There are tattoos. DNA. And there are even microchips embedded under the hide. But to help lost or stolen livestock get back to their rightful owners, there's nothing quite as effective as the good, old fashioned brand. Secure the ownership of your horse with a brand.

Although the goal is to achieve a white mark on each horse we brand (except for light colored horses where a bald brand is obtained), the hide of each horse varies greatly and therefore, each brand will vary from horse to horse. Most brands WILL be white. Others will void of color or hairless. The purpose of a brand is to have an identifying mark which will serve as proof of ownership in the event of theft or loss. We guarantee our brands to be legible identification. In the event one of our brands is not legible, we will be happy to touch it up after 90 days at no charge.

 

Branding Application Times

 

 

Animal Coolant Application Time

Colt- Liquid Nitrogen 6-12 Seconds
Dry Ice & Alcohol 16-24 Seconds

Horse- Liquid Nitrogen 8-12 Seconds
Dry Ice & Alcohol 20-24 Seconds

Calf- Liquid Nitrogen 21-24 Seconds
Dry Ice & Alcohol 40-50 Seconds

Cow- Liquid Nitrogen 25-30 Seconds
Dry Ice & Alcohol 50-60 Seconds

 

 

IMPORTANT

Extreme care should be taken when freeze branding. The time required to apply the brand is crucial. If in doubt, branding should only be performed by a trained brand technician or veterinarian.