Livestock Management RANCHING
Branding Is Still The Best Way To Make Sure Your Cattle Stay Yours
T
HERE IS A REASON FIRE BRANDING HAS BEEN USED SINCE ancient times to prove ownership of livestock: it works. Branding is one of the best ways to track
down lost or stolen animals. Ear tags can be lost or removed by a thief, but an animal carrying a unique brand or mark is easily and permanently identifi able and traceable. A century ago, branding was a necessity for many
ranchers because much of ranching country was open range. This meant few fenced pastures and much confusion when your cattle were mixed in with your neighbors’. The only way to prove a claim that your cattle were actually yours was by the brand. Those days of sorting cattle may be gone, but the reasons for needing a brand on your livestock haven’t changed. Fences mean little to a bull with his mind set on being somewhere else, or to a thief with bolt cutters. However, a brand is no good if it’s not registered with
the proper authorities. In Texas, that is the county clerk of the county or counties where the livestock are kept or run. There is no statewide brand registry; brands must be registered at the county clerk’s offi ce for them to be considered a legal means of proving ownership. In Oklahoma, brands are registered by the Oklahoma
Cattlemen’s Association (OCA). All approved brands will appear in the Oklahoma brand book or one of its supplements. These books are printed every 5 years and supplements are added as needed. For more information on brands in Oklahoma, call the OCA at 405-235-4391. Brands are used by law enforcement in criminal
64 The Cattleman January 2015
How to read a brand Brands are read from left to right, from the top down or from the outside to the inside.
If a letter or symbol is made backwards from its normal position, it’s read as a reverse.
If a letter lies horizontally on its face or back, it is called lazy.
Letters with a curving fl are at the top and rounded angles are called running
Adding a dash to the left and right of a letter, at the top, is called a fl ying letter.
Add legs and it’s a walking letter.
Curves not attached to letters are known as quarter circles or half circles, depend- ing on the arc.
A letter placed so the bottom touches a quarter circle is said to be rocking.
Letters or symbols formed together are called connected, except when one is below the other. In that case, the lower symbol is said to be swinging or hanging.
In addition to the traditional letter and fi gure
brands, there are marks known as character or picture brands, such as turtles, keys, spades and ladders. The brand location is as important as the brand
itself. The same brand may be registered in the same county as long as the location on the ani- mal is different.
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