The Eyes and Ears of Rural Alberta

Branding Horses Important

Ever tried describing your horse to a stranger or a police officer with enough clarity that it could be identified?

Hopefully, you will never experience it, as it's almost impossible. Over seventy horses were stolen in Alberta during the year 1999. The main reason is these animals were not branded.

RCMP Livestock Section recommends horse owners obtain a registered brand and freeze brand their horses. Hot branding is a well established method of permanently marking livestock, but it is not as obvious as a freeze brand. Brands can be obtained in Alberta from Livestock Identification Services, in Saskatchewan at Saskatchewan Agriculture Livestock Branch and in British Columbia at Ownership Identification Inc. The cost of a brand is a small price to pay for the security it provides.

I have investigated stolen horse complaints where the stolen horse had been branded and once the thief observed the horse in the light of day and noticed the brand, he turned the horse loose. The experienced thief knows the freeze branded horse is easily recognized. Anything short of locking him up inside a barn would mean someone would spot him and notify authorities. One must realize a branded horse can be identified from a half mile away with a good pair of binoculars and from a vehicle driving past at eighty kilometers per hour, if the animal is alongside the road.

There is the added security that all livestock sold at public auctions, going into feedlots and packing plants or transported out of province are inspected by brand inspectors. If the horse has been reported stolen and is branded, the brand inspectors will identify it as stolen and seize the horse prior to the horse being offered for sale.

A lot of horse owners do not realize the protection that is afforded them when a horse is branded with a registered brand. Every time the horse is brand inspected and the person who has possession of the horse is not the registered brand owner, that person must produce bills of sale proving ownership back to the registered brand owner.

There have been incidents where the horse was recovered by brand inspectors before the owner became aware it was stolen. Also, when a horse is identifiable by a brand, a record is kept by the brand inspector, thus creating a permanent record. This is a serious problem for a horse thief.

Let's take a look at two separate incidents of horse theft that occurred in Alberta over the last year. Both were investigated by the RCMP with the assistance of Livestock Identification Services brand inspectors.

The first is a theft of two unbranded well broke geldings from Lakeside Feedlot located near Brooks, approximately two hours east of Calgary. The two horses were stolen from their stalls over the weekend. Brooks RCMP detachment, with the assistance of other police services, had conducted an extensive investigation with inquiries made as far away as Ontario. The owners have published photographs in horse and livestock industry magazines, placed posters all over Alberta and alerted brand inspectors in Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C. Unfortunately, the horses have not been located and the trail grows colder every day.

The second example is a branded mare and foal from the Fort MacLeod area, two hours south of Calgary. A mare and foal were brought into an inspected feedlot near F. McLeod. Because the mare was branded and the seller was not the registered owner of the brand, the seller had to provide documentation proving ownership. Documentation was provided, although questionable in nature. The brand inspector, being diligent, contacted the registered owner of the brand, by simply looking the owner up in the brand book. The owner was questioned about the sale of the mare. Not only did her not sell the mare, he didn't even know she was missing. The mare and foal were recovered before the owner even realized they'd been stolen.

During many of my presentations, electronic identification has surfaced and my opinion has been requested. One must realize the brand is not applied to enable the owner to identify the horse, it is applied so everyone else can identify the animal.

If a branded horse is stolen, a fanout bulletin is possible so people have something to look for. An electronic implant is not visible to the naked eye, and even with a scanner, one must have close access to the animal. I advise the ultimate safeguard would be a freeze branded horse with an electronic implant. The brand makes it possible to find the stolen animal, and the implant would assist in the identification, saving the owner the trouble of traveling to where the animal is located.

Livestock owners must be aware that all brands applied to livestock must be registered with the appropriate service responsible for the inspection in your respective province.

It is illegal to design and apply a brand without properly registering it.