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Linda in MN wrote:
"...A brand provides a visual clue to check data on a horse"
Yes, you're right it does, but you have to be able to connect the brand
with the brand owner. Back in the days when livestock was not usually
shipped far and wide, identifying a brand on an animal was a relatively
simple matter.
Today, it can be very tough to connect a brand with its owner. There is
no central registry of brands in the U.S., so you have to contact the
brand registry in each individual state. Just finding the state registry
is a hassle -- there's no registry of brand registries either!
Why do I know this? About 2 years ago, I rescued a small Belgian mare
out of the kill pen at a local auction in northeastern Iowa. Annie is a
sorrel bay roan. From her coloring and body type, I think she is at
least part Brabant (European Belgian). She has a W= brand on her left
flank. I'd love to know if she can be registered and what percentage of
Brabant is in her breeding. Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to
connect the brand with Annie's original owner.
I don't know if you'd get much "name recognition" in Minnesota from
owning a brand and using it on your horses, Linda. In the midwestern and
eastern states, branding is not common. People would have to know to
check the MN brand registry for the brand on that hypothetical stolen
horse -- and why would anyone have a clue to think that the brand was
registered in MN or anywhere east of the Missouri River?
If there was a centralized brand registry, that would be a different
story I think.
DeeAnna
