Contact the agricultural department in the state
from which the horse came (where he was bred and registered) and they should be
able to identify the brand. It might be possible to go online and find
this, too, but I'm not certain. The location alone helps a lot. Our
brand can be used only on the right hip, because that is what it is registered
for. If we wanted, we could pay to have our brand registered for anywhere
on the entire right side, and no one in California could use our brand on the
right side of an animal but us. If someone saw our Walking L on the
right side, they would find out who the animal belonged to or where it was
bred. So far, we haven't had any reason to command the right side,
any location, for our brand. The right hip serves us just fine. But
if you ever saw a bovine with a Walking L brand on the right hip, you would
think..."Aha! That cow (bull, calf) came from Big
Creek Ranch. I suppose there may be Walking L brand, right
hip, in other states, but not in CA. It's ours and ours alone.
That's why it's important to have
a registered brand for livestock. If we bred horses instead of
cattle, we would likely brand them, too. It's like engraving your name on
your camera, TV set, or whatever. Should it be stolen, it could be
traced. And don't mistake...livestock theft still exists.
BTW, since there are so many chiming in that are
knowledgable about brands.... I have a client that would really like to
know about one of the brands means on her Warmblood mare. Its a "2" over
a "B" on her left shoulder. How would one track that?
