The Branding Iron

The Branding Iron

            The branding iron is the permanent cowboy trademark.   Cattle branding has been around for thousands of years and it is a tool that ranchers use to show ownership of an animal.  Using a branding iron to mark ownership has been around for at least 4,000 years.  There have been inscriptions in Egyptian tombs found that showed branded cattle as early as 2,000 B.C.  Branding is one of the oldest and most permanent ways to identify cattle.  The International Livestock Identification Association considers livestock brands to be as important as the return address on an envelope (Missouri Department of Agriculture).

            Branding in America was adopted from Mexico where Mexican ranchers would mark their cattle with a brand that was their family coat-of-arms.  Today brands can mean several different things.  They might be a part of a name or maybe just a unique design. According to a website called kids cowboy by John R. Craighead Company, Inc., the following is a good rule of thumb on how to identify and read a brand today:

Brands are read from left to right, from the top down, or from outside inside. A definite method of identifying characters has been established. If a letter or symbol is made backwards from its normal position, it's read as a “reverse F” or whatever other letter it might be.  A letter partially over on its face or back is said to be “tumbling.”  If a letter lies horizontally on its face or back, it is called “lazy.”  Letters with a curving flare at the top and rounded angles are called “running."  Adding a dash to the left and one to the right at the top, you have a "flying" letter.  Add legs and it becomes a “walking” letter.  A letter placed so that the bottom touches the inside of a curve is said to be “rocking.”  Curves not attached to letters are known as “quarter circles” or “half circles,” depending on the arc. Letters or symbols formed together are called “connected,” except when one is below the other, then the lower symbol is said to be “swinging.” In registering brands, owners sometimes omit the “connected” or “swinging”.  Besides the traditional letter and figure brands, there are some marks known as “character brands.”  Common picture brands are the pitchfork and the key. The reading of picture brands depends upon the owner’s interpretation, and it takes an expert to identify some of the more complex brands.

            Today there are thousands of cattle brands registered in the United States.  After you have a brand registered under your name it is your responsibility to make sure the brand is applied properly and is readable.  A Brand is applied to the skin when it is hot, about the color of the fire ashes that you might use to heat your iron.  Red hot irons are to hot and will over burn the animal and make a poor brand.  A good iron’s letters will be around one-quarter inch thick and about four inches tall, so it can retain the heat as you are using it and make a legible brand.  For about the last 20 years or so they have started to make electric branding irons that do a great job of retaining the proper heat and work well for fast multiple brandings where electric is accessible.

            Branding practices have recently been questioned concerning hide damage.  Branding cattle damages the quality of the hide that may be later used for leather goods.  A study done by the National Animal Health Monitoring System in 1992-93 and determined that there is a deduction in price on hides that have been branded, how much depends on brand location.  Cattle branded on the rib cage lost on average $13 per hide.  Cattle branded on the hip or shoulder on lost $9 on average.

            In all states brands must be recorded in the state that they are going to be used in so no others can us that same brand.  Once that brand is recorded it provides ownership and is considered legal evidence in a court of law.  In the state of Missouri and most other states a individual can apply for a new brand or a brand that has not been in use for at least five years.  The state will reject any brand that is the same as a brand that is already registered within the state.   The brand will be assigned one of three spots the hip, rib, or shoulder of the right or left side; If the brand is not in the correct spot than it cannot be enforced.  In the state of Missouri it is a felony to brand someone else’s animal or to deface or obliterate any livestock brand.  It is also illegal to brand any livestock with a brand that has not been properly registered within the state.  Livestock can also be branded and many times are branded with numbers for identification purposes within the herd.  Brands that are used for identification with in the heard are not registered and therefore cannot be considered proof of ownership and will not hold up in the court of law.

            Once the brands are recorded by the Missouri Department of Agriculture they are considered personal property of the owner.  Brands can be sold or transferred but must be registered under the new ownership of the brand.  Within the state of Missouri brand registration fee is $35 and transfer fee is $10.  Once you own your brand it is good for five years before it needs to be renewed.  Currently in the state of Missouri there are around 5,000 brands recorded.

                                                 Work Cited

Agriculture, M. D. (2010). Livestock Branding. Retrieved November 28, 2010, from http://mda.mo.gov/animals/livestockbranding.php

Branding Practices in Beef Cow/Calf Heards. (1993). Retrieved November 8, 2010, from www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/beefcowcalf/downloads/CHAPA_is_Branding_pdf

Craighead, J. R. (n.d.). The History of Cattle Brands and How to Read Them. Retrieved November 8, 2010, from http://www.kidscowboy.com/cattle-brands.html