Practicing What You Peach 2: Branding

A few months ago I wrote about practicing what you preach, and being sure that any animal you have in your care has the equipment and basic life skills to safely evacuate in event of a emergency. 

 And before the end of the year I completed my personal list by branding Brillo (companion mule) and pulling his coggins (on the rest of the herd's schedule, ensuring he'd be done each year in the future).

For 30 bucks and using one of the clinic's brands I provided sweet little B a unique, life long, forever visible mark (freeze brand- an 8 sideways/infinity sign).

Branding greatly reduces his chance of theft, while greatly increasing his chances at recovery.  

Brillo is no longer just a little donkey looking mule, he is a little donkey looking mule with a brand (something anyone can look for).  And his brand also helps to prove my ownership (in addition to his veterinary paper work since he doesn't have registration papers).

Even if you don't want to shell out $100-$200 on a custom brand (like the one on my mare above) you can still provide your beloved horses a permanent mark of "peace of mind". 

Insert Worst Case Scenario (Here)

We've all heard the saying, "Horse's are like potato chips, you just can't have one."  

And many equestrian households find themselves with an extra or few who don't do much more than look cute and panhandle for cookies.  The retired show horse, the unsound due to accident, the pity plea/ rescue, companion donkey, etc.  

These horses rarely see halter and often go years without stepping foot in a trailer, and this is completely fine 99.9% of the time until there is a...

Fire, flood, major injury...

Insert worst case scenario (here).

 

Could you quickly and safely catch (and have the equipment to do so), and load your less handled equines in the event of an emergency?

Do you have proof of ownership in the form of brands, coggins/vet bills, registration papers, microchip, and or photos of you and your equine together in the event they get lost, have to be left at a emergency shelter, etc?  

Disaster waits for no one.  So be proactive.

And be sure even your extra horses have basic handling skills (catch, lead, load) and practice them occasionally before calamity strikes.