Shoulder Branding

[_downpour_]

Could someone please explain the process of shoulder branding? Have a pony who is going to get one in a few weeks ( I would prefer if he was microchipped but apparantely it's not possible where he's getting done). We already have two who are branded on their shoulders, but one's is white and one's is black. Does the white hair come from freeze branding whereas the black scar-ish kind of brand come from hot branding? Apparantely they will be getting sedated before branding, do they protest much? What care must be taken after the branding process? I feel awful about it but he needs it to get his permanent height card.

[Boomer]

My horses aren't shoulder branded, but are freeze-branded on the thigh.

On my bay the hair has grown in white and is very distint when he is in his winter "dark bay" color. In the summer he's bleached "buckskin" color, but the brand still shows well.

My chestnut mare has very few white hairs grown in - it's mainly a hairless brand, and looks dark in color.

Maybe it depends on how long the freeze brand was applied and how the horse's skin "scars".

I put vasoline on the brands afterwards while they were healing to keep the skin from splitting an being tight. Neither of mine where sedated; the gelding didn't love it but handled it, my mare had to be twitched.

[Bluey]

Any brands heal better if you don't put anything on them, let them peel on their own.

Hot branding only touches the horse for a half a second and they are branded, before their brain gets the message and yes, it does burn for that split second and they jump, so generally they are twitched, so they don't feel it as much.
Freeze branding they don't feel anything, but if they move, since it takes longer, the brand may blotch, so generally they are mildly sedated for it.

Our horses are also branded on the shoulder and the area is clipped very short, with a surgical #40 blade, wiped down with alcohol and the super cooled branding iron is applied for some 30 seconds on a darker horse, to only change the follicles from their regular color to white, or some 60 seconds on a light horse, so the hair is killed and the brand shows hairless.

Well done brands are neat and clean and don't distract from a horse, hurt it and it may bring your horse back if ever stolen.

I expect you are freeze branding your horse?
I would not worry, it doesn't really hurt.

Our vets are reproductive specialists so they have liquid nitrogen on hand all the time, that they use to cool the irons.
They will brand any regular customer's horses free, but will charge the rest a small fee.