Have you ever wanted your own brand, but you are unsure how to do it? There are quite a few steps, but if you follow all the requirements, you can design your very own! Livestock brands serve a great purpose, ownership. These brands are used to mark livestock or even personal belongings. In the event of an animal or item being stolen, you are able to not only prove it belongs to you, but hopefully locate it quicker. People most commonly brand horses or cattle, but others do brand things like saddles, saddle pads, or tack items. These brands are unique to each person who creates them and serve a huge importance to the ranching community. Each state may have different laws, but below we will go over the steps to design your own brand in Colorado. If you would like to read further into it, you can visit the Colorado Department of Agriculture website and they have lots of good information. 

First, you are going to fill out a new brand application. These can be found on the Colorado Department of Agriculture website under "Brands> Livestock Brands> New Brands". With your application, you will need to submit a $200 research fee to get the process started. There are millions of brands already in the database and each one has to be completely different. It does not matter the position on the animal, no brand can be the same or similar. On the application, you are given 3 boxes. This works very similar to registering a horse. Essentially, you put down your top 3 choices, the first one being your preferred brand. It is recommended to record 3 just in case one or more is not approved. 

With your application, they also include a sheet with multiple recognized characters on it. This will help you with the design process. Most new brands contain two letters or numbers with another character. These characters may include a bar, quarter circle, moon, arrow, slash, etc.. A new brand must contain at least 3 characters. It is recommended that you do not connect several characters because this will cause blotching or an unclear transfer once placed on an animal or item. You want it to be unique to you, but also legible. 

Once this is all submitted and cross referenced, the Brand Commissioner will need to approve the brand. It takes at least 3-6 weeks of research time, can you imagine having to look at every single active brand? There can be no conflicts or similarities in the slightest. Once the proper research has been done, the brand is either approved or declined. 

If it is approved, a deed will be mailed out to you. You will then need to sign it, get it notarized, and return it to the brand office within 30 days. Your initial $200 research fee will go towards the recording fee, there will be additional fees stated in the letter. The assessment fee for new brands is pro-rated each year. If a brand is denied, they will send a letter out explaining why it was denied and what the next steps are. If you include 3 designs on your application, they will try each of those first if the prior one is declined. 

So let's say your brand got approved, yay! These would be your next steps:

1. Get a branding iron made. There are several companies out there, we always suggest shopping small and supporting a growing business. You will send in your design to the company. They will discuss sizing with you as well as if you want a freeze brand or a hot brand. Sizing will depend on if you are putting it on your livestock or if you need a smaller scale one for your saddle or tack. Freeze brands are my personal favorite when it comes to horses at least. They are a bit easier, relatively painless, reduced hide damage, and no blotching. Once you decide what size and style you want, they will make you a branding iron and ship it out to you! 

2. Once you receive the branding iron, you can now brand your livestock or item. If it is your first time doing this, you can certainly reach out to your large animal vet for assistance. They have the stanchion to put the animal in and a lot of times they can give them a light sedative. They can direct you and keep everyone safe in this situation. If this isn't your first rodeo with branding, then you already know how it goes! 

3. When you do brand your cattle or horse, you will need to let your local Brand Inspector know that there has been a change to the animal. This will be important for your brand inspection paperwork or a permanent travel card. They can make changes on the paperwork that indicates this animal is now branded, which will help identify it in the event it is stolen. 

(picture credit: https://cowgirlmagazine.com/freeze-brand-horse/)