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 Undercover Amish Mafia Member
Posts: 9992
    
Location: Kansas | For those of you who freeze brand your own horses (yes we will have someone on sight who is knowledgeable with branding), what is the normal amount of time you are leaving the brand on the horse. I was told 15 sec, then told that is way too long and that it's a max of 8 sec. |
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Red Hot Cardinal Fan
Posts: 4122
| I think the time applied depends on what you use. For example I believe liquid nitrogen you hold on there less.(I could be wrong here though) I use acetone and dry ice, and typically leave I t on for 20 seconds. |
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 Expert
Posts: 5293
| I have freeze branded hundreds yes hundreds of horses. All different colors. I only use liquid nitrogen not the dry ice alcohol method. The amount of time you leave it on depends on the color of the horse. 8 seconds won't get it done. You need to leave it on 17-20 seconds rocking the brand top to bottom side to side. For grey horses 28 seconds. I followed the directions from LH brands when I first started. Their website has a ton of info. But 8 seconds no way. |
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 Expert
Posts: 4625
Location: Desert Land | I just had my horses branded this weekend. The girl that did it for me said 60 secs for the gray horse and 40 for everyone else...using alcohol and dry ice. First time I have ever branded horses, so I went with whatever she said. All of her brands look good and we did one of hers too, so I trust they will come out good.
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| 45 seconds for every color except grey, and I can't remember what a greys time is.
I have had three different vet clinics do mine, all do the 45 seconds, with liquid nitrogen, they wait for the alcohol to dry. The alcohol is used for an antiseptic.
Edited by cheryl makofka 2015-10-18 10:14 PM
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Expert
Posts: 5293
| cheryl makofka - 2015-10-18 8:11 PM
45 seconds for every color except grey, and I can't remember what a greys time is.
I have had three different vet clinics do mine, all do the 45 seconds, with liquid nitrogen, they wait for the alcohol to dry. The alcohol is used for an antiseptic.
Yes time is longer for dry ice. Its not as cold as nitrogen. As for the alcohol, its not so much for anti septic, but as a conductor of the cold. I use a squirt bottle to squirt it on then apply the brand while its wet. |
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Location: In my own little world | We have a freeze branding business as well. Everyone that brands has their own little twist on it that makes it successful for them. Variables are hide color and pigment of the skin, thickness of the hide, dry ice and alcohol vs liquid nitrogen, and the kind of iron you are using is also an important factor. We build our own irons and prefer to use them over anything because we know exactly how long to stay on every color and hide thickness. And contrary to what some will tell you, they do not need to be made of copper, brass or stainless steel. We use 1/4" cold roll steel which means our irons are handmade, shaped, welded and filed, not poured. Our rule of thumb is 12-13 seconds using liquid nitrogen.If we use a brass iron that someone has ordered we adjust the time accordingly because the brass is so dense. If you want to kill both the color follicle and the growth follicle on a white hide then 30 seconds will do the job. Our process is 1st clipping the brand site using a medium fine to fine clipper blade. After the iron has reached the needed level of cold (when the nitrogen quits bubbling rapidly and is just jiggling) the clipped brand site is sprayed down (very wet) with 99% rubbing alcohol. 91% is the least we will use. Remove iron from the nitrogen and brand. I twitch each and every horse and but only twitch them enough to take their mind off the branding. Seldom does one need to be mashed down on (unless it is an unruly mule). We do not tranquilize either because we are not vets and licensed to have/use tranquilizing drugs. However there have been times that it would have been handy, (and not for the horse but rather the human who brought the horse). It is a team effort with my husband clipping and branding and I twitch and count the seconds off after he has determined the length of time to apply the brand.. We never tie anything as it often sends a horse into a fight or flight mode, thus the twitch accomplishes the same thing. We prefer horses come to our place as we are set up with a tie stall we back the horses into but if we have to go to the field to brand we will use the corner of a box stall, the corner inside a horse trailer. We prefer them somewhat confined in a corner but not permanently in a tight space because if they move we can move with them without coming off the brand site. We used to use a stock but depending on the size of the horse the side bar was often in the wrong spot and would cover or partially cover the brand location and wouldn't allow for the right amount of pressure on the iron. You need steady pressure without losing contact with any part of the hide.
This is what has been very successful for us and we have been branding for a good 15-20 years and branded horse and mules for the US Forest Service and Park Service, outfitters, breeders, ranchers, rodeo contractors, you name it. We just like to see it done correctly rather than the process not turn out for someone who chooses to brand their own. It's very important to my husband because inspecting horses and livestock plus recovering stolen livestock has been his day job for over 35 years so having a good hot iron or freeze brand makes his job much easier. Lion hunting is also very popular in our area so we have branded several coon hounds in case the hound gets on a track and doesn't return, another tracker will know whose dog it is. |
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 Midget Lover
Location: Kentucky | We just did mine a few weeks ago. We used dry ice and 99% alcohol on a 5 month old sorrel colt and left it on for 25 seconds. It's much clearer now, but here is is immediately after taking the brand off.
Edited by Murphy 2015-10-19 8:00 AM
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Freeze branding