Freeze Branding

Branding cattle has a long history and is done for security reasons as a permanent way to identify the owner. Most people have seen branding done with hot irons but in recent times freeze branding has become popular. It is nearly painless to the animal and is often used on horses as well.

Freeze branding uses extreme cold to kill the cells in the animal’s skin that produce pigmentation, or color. It turns the hair where the branding iron touches white which can be easier to see and read. This not only helps working cowboys but makes it much more noticeable to anyone looking at the animal – hopefully reducing the number of animals wrongly sorted or stolen.

It also is often easier to read in the winter time when coats can darken from growing longer or being wet. The only disadvantage is it doesn’t work that well on light colored coats like white but it still can be done.

The freeze branding iron is normally made of brass or copper blends because they hold the cold well. Because the material can be handled easier than iron there are more possibilities with freeze branding irons in terms of curves and small areas.

The brand is prepared using dry ice and alcohol or acetone or sometimes liquid nitrogen to get it very cold. The animal is prepared by shaving hair off the branding area because the brand must be applied directly to the skin. When you are ready 99% alcohol is rubbed on the shaved area and the brand applied at a 90 degree angle directly to that area. How long you hold it is an art learned from experience but generally takes 15-60 seconds depending on how thick the hide is. This can be a challenge when working in the open because the animal needs to be held still.

The brand doesn’t show up very well at the time but as the hair grows back it will turn white. Sometimes this takes a month or so.

Here’s a good company that makes branding irons, including freeze brands:
L & H Branding Irons.