Livestock branding
Encyclopedia

Livestock branding is a technique for marking livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...

 so as to identify the owner. Originally, livestock branding only referred to a hot brand for large stock, though the term is now also used to refer to other alternative techniques such as freeze branding. Other forms of livestock identification include inner lip or ear tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...

s, earmark
Earmark (agriculture)
An earmark is a cut or mark in the ear of livestock animals such as cattle, deer, pigs, goats, camels or sheep, made to show ownership, year of birth or gender....

ing, ear tagging, and RFID tagging with a type of microchip
Microchip implant (animal)
A microchip implant is an identifying integrated circuit placed under the skin of a dog, cat, horse, parrot or other animal. The chips are about the size of a large grain of rice and are based on a passive RFID technology....

. The semi-permanent paint markings used to identify sheep are called a paint or colour brand. In the American west
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...

, branding evolved into a complex marking system still in use today.

History

The act of marking livestock with fire-heated marks to identify ownership has origins in ancient times, with use dating back to the ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...

ians. Among the ancient Romans, the symbols used for brands were sometimes chosen as part of a magic spell aimed at protecting the animal from harm.

In English lexicon, the word brand originally meant anything hot or burning, such as a firebrand
Firebrand
The word Firebrand has several uses:* A piece of burning wood * A person with a penchant for militancy in speech and/or action-Vehicles:*Blackburn Firebrand, an aircraft constructed for the Royal Navy...

, a burning stick. By the European Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

, it commonly identified the process of burning a mark into stock animals with thick hides, such as cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

, so as to identify ownership under animus revertendi
Animus revertendi
The term animus revertendi is a Latin phrase that means "With intention to return". It can refer to an animal that is under the care of another, which distinguishes it from an animal ferae naturae . It is a type of ownership right recognized by property law. This legal concept also supports the...

. The practice became particularly widespread in nations with large cattle grazing regions, such as Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

.

These European customs were imported to the Americas and were further refined by the vaquero
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...

 tradition in what today is the southwestern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and northern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. In the American West, a branding iron consisted of an iron rod with a simple symbol or mark, which cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...

s heated in a fire. After the branding iron turned red-hot, the cowboy pressed the branding iron against the hide of the cow. The unique brand meant that cattle owned by multiple ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...

es could then graze freely together on the open range. Cowboys could then separate the cattle at round-up time for driving to market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...

. Cattle rustlers using "running irons" were ingenious in changing brands. The most famous brand change involved the making of the X I T brand into a star with a cross inside. Brands became so numerous that it became necessary to record them in books that the ranchers could carry in their pockets. Laws were passed requiring the registration of brands and the inspection of cattle driven through various territories. Penalties were imposed on those who failed to obtain a bill of sale
Bill of sale
A bill of sale is a legal document made by a 'seller' to a purchaser, reporting that on a specific date, at a specific locality, and for a particular sum of money or other "value received", the seller sold to the purchaser a specific item of personal, or parcel of real, property of which he had...

 with a list of brands on the animals purchased.

From the Americas, many cattle branding traditions and techniques spread to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, where a distinct set of traditions and techniques developed. Livestock branding has been practiced in Australia since 1866, but it was not until 1897 that each owner had to register his brand. These fire and paint brands could not then be duplicated legally.

Modern usage

Free-range or open range grazing is less common today than in the past. However, branding still has its uses. The main purpose is in proving ownership of lost or stolen
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...

 animals. Many western US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 states have strict laws regarding brands, including brand registration and required brand inspections. In many cases, a brand on an animal is considered prima facie
Prima facie
Prima facie is a Latin expression meaning on its first encounter, first blush, or at first sight. The literal translation would be "at first face", from the feminine form of primus and facies , both in the ablative case. It is used in modern legal English to signify that on first examination, a...

 proof of ownership. (See Brand Book
Brand Book
A Brand Book records all livestock brands registered with an organization. In the U.S. most states have branding laws that require brands to be registered before use. This may be a state agency or a private association regulated by the state. Most states with such laws have a Brand Book for the...

)

In the hides and leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...

 industry, brands are treated as a defect, and can diminish the value of the hide. This industry has a number of traditional terms relating to the type of brand on a hide. Colorado Branded (slang Collie) refers to placement of a brand on the side of an animal, although this does not necessarily indicate the animal is from Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

. Butt branded refers to a hide which has had a brand placed on the portion of the skin covering the rump area of the animal. Cleanskin is the term used to describe an animal without a brand. Native refers to a skin without a brand.

Outside of the livestock industry, red-hot branding was used in 2003 by tortoise researchers to provide a permanent means of unique identification of individual Galapagos tortoise
Galápagos tortoise
The Galápagos tortoise or Galápagos giant tortoise is the largest living species of tortoise, reaching weights of over and lengths of over . With life spans in the wild of over 100 years, it is one of the longest-lived vertebrates...

s being studied. In this case, the brand was applied to the rear of the tortoises' shells. This technique has since been superseded by implanted PIT microchips
Microchip implant (animal)
A microchip implant is an identifying integrated circuit placed under the skin of a dog, cat, horse, parrot or other animal. The chips are about the size of a large grain of rice and are based on a passive RFID technology....

 (combined with ID numbers painted on the shell).

Methods of branding

The traditional cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...

 or stockman captured and secured an animal for branding by roping
Calf roping
Calf roping, also known as tie-down roping, is a rodeo event that features a calf and a rider mounted on a horse. The goal of this timed event is for the rider to catch the calf by throwing a loop of rope from a lariat around its neck, dismount from the horse, run to the calf, and restrain it by...

 it, laying it over on the ground, tying its legs together, and applying a branding iron
Branding iron
A branding iron is a tool which uses the process of pressing a heated metal shape against an object or livestock with the intention of leaving a mark....

 that had been heated in a fire. Modern ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...

 practice has moved toward use of chutes where animals can be run into a confined area and safely secured while the brand is applied. Two types of restraint are the cattle crush or squeeze chute (for larger cattle), which may close on either side of a standing animal, or a branding cradle, where calves are caught in a cradle which is rotated so that the animal is lying on its side.
Bronco branding is an old method of catching cleanskin (unbranded) cattle on Top End
Top End
The Top End of northern Australia is the second northernmost point on the continent. It covers a rather vaguely-defined area of perhaps 400,000 square kilometres behind the northern coast from the Northern Territory capital of Darwin across to Arnhem Land with the Indian Ocean on the west, the...

 cattle station
Cattle station
Cattle station is an Australian term for a large farm , whose main activity is the rearing of cattle. In Australia, the owner of a cattle station is called a grazier...

s for branding in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. A heavy horse, usually with some draught horse
Draft horse
A draft horse , draught horse or dray horse , less often called a work horse or heavy horse, is a large horse bred for hard, heavy tasks such as ploughing and farm labour...

 bloodlines and typically fitted with a harness horse collar
Horse collar
A horse collar is a part of a horse harness device used to distribute load around a horse's neck and shoulders when pulling a wagon or plow. The collar often supports and pads a pair of curved metal or wood pieces, called hames, to which the traces of the harness are attached...

, is used to rope the selected calf. The calf is then pulled up to several sloping topped panels and a post constructed for the purpose in the centre of the yard. The unmounted stockmen then apply leg ropes and pull it to the ground to be branded, earmarked and castrated (if a bull) there. With the advent of portable cradles, this method of branding has been mostly phased out on stations. However, there are now quite a few bronco branding competitions at rodeos and campdrafting
Campdrafting
Campdrafting is a unique and very popular Australian sport involving a horse and rider working cattle. The riding style is like that of Western riding and the event is somewhat related to the American events such as cutting, working cow horse, team penning, and ranch sorting.In the competition, a...

 days, etc.

Some ranches still heat branding irons in a wood or coal fire, others use an electric branding iron or electric sources to heat a traditional iron. Gas fired branding iron heaters are very popular in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, as iron temperatures can be regulated and there is not the heat of a nearby fire. Regardless of heating method, the iron is only applied for the amount of time needed to remove all hair and create a permanent mark. Branding irons are applied for a longer period of time to cattle than to horses, due to the differing thickness of the skin. If a brand is applied too long, it can damage the skin too deeply, thus requiring treatment for potential infection and longer-term healing. Stock that are wet when branded may result in the smudging of the brand. Brand identification may be difficult on long haired animals and may necessitate clipping of the area to view the brand.

Horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

s may also be branded on their hooves
Horse hoof
A horse hoof is a structure surrounding the distal phalanx of the 3rd digit of each of the four limbs of Equus species, which is covered by complex soft tissue and keratinised structures...

, but this is not a permanent mark and needs to be re-done about every six months. In the military, some brands indicated the horse's army and squadron numbers. This identification number was used on British army horses so that dead horses on the battlefield could be identified. The hooves of the dead horse were then removed and returned to the Horse Guards with a request for a replacement horse. This method was used to prevent fraudulent requests for horses. Merino
Merino
The Merino is an economically influential breed of sheep prized for its wool. Merinos are regarded as having some of the finest and softest wool of any sheep...

 rams and bulls are sometimes firebranded on their horns for permanent individual identification.

Temporary branding

Temporary branding is achieved by heat branding lightly, so that the hair is burned but the skin is not damaged. Because this persists only until the animal sheds its hair, it is not considered a properly applied brand.

Freeze branding

In contrast to traditional hot-iron branding, freeze branding uses a branding iron that has been chilled with a coolant such as dry ice or liquid nitrogen
Liquid nitrogen
Liquid nitrogen is nitrogen in a liquid state at a very low temperature. It is produced industrially by fractional distillation of liquid air. Liquid nitrogen is a colourless clear liquid with density of 0.807 g/mL at its boiling point and a dielectric constant of 1.4...

. Rather than burning a scar into the animal, a freeze brand damages the pigment-producing hair cells, causing the animal's hair to grow white where the brand has been applied. To apply a freeze brand, the hair coat of the animal is shaved so that the bare skin is exposed, then the frozen iron is applied to the bare area for a period of time that varies with both the species of animal and the color of its hair coat: Shorter times are used on dark-colored animals, simply causing the hair follicles to lose all color and regrow as white hairs. Longer times are needed on animals with white hair coats, as the brand is applied long enough to permanently stop the hair from growing in the branded area and only skin remains.

Freeze brands cause less damage to the animals' hides than hot iron brands, and can be more visible. Horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

s are frequently freeze-branded. At this time, hogs cannot be successfully freeze branded, as their hair pigment cells are better protected. Also, freeze branding is slower, more expensive, less predictable (more care is required in application to assure desired results), and in some places does not constitute a legal brand on cattle. When an animal grows a long hair coat, the freeze brand is still visible, but its details are not always clear. Thus, is it sometimes necessary to shave or closely trim the hair so that a sharper image of a freeze brand can be viewed.

To apply a freeze brand, the area will need to have the hair shaved off the branding site. Hair is an excellent insulator, and must be removed so the extreme cold of the freeze-branding iron can be applied directly to the skin. Then the iron, made of metal such as brass or copper that removes heat rapidly from the skin, is submerged into the coolant. Immediately before the iron is applied, the animal's skin is rubbed, squirted, or sprayed with a generous amount of 99% alcohol, then the freeze branding iron is removed from the coolant and held onto the skin with firm pressure for several seconds. The exact amount of time will vary according to the kind of animal, the thickness of its skin, the type of metal the branding iron is made of, the type of coolant being used, and other factors.

Immediately after the freeze branding iron is removed from the skin, an indented outline of the brand will be visible. Within seconds, however, the outline will disappear and within several minutes after that, the brand outline will reappear as swollen, puffy skin. Once the swelling subsides, for a short time, the brand will be difficult or impossible to see, but in a few days, the branded skin will begin to flake, and within three to four weeks, the brand will begin to take on its permanent appearance.

Horse branding regulations

In Australia all Arabian, Part Bred Arabians, Australian Stock Horse
Australian Stock Horse
The Australian Stock Horse , has been especially bred for Australian conditions. It is a hardy breed of horse noted for endurance, agility and a good temperament. Its ancestry dates to the arrival of the first horses in Australia, brought from Europe, Africa and Asia...

s, Quarter Horse
American Quarter Horse
The American Quarter Horse is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name came from its ability to outdistance other breeds of horses in races of a quarter mile or less; some individuals have been clocked at speeds up to 55 mph...

s, Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

s, and the nine pony breeds registered in the Australian Pony Stud Book must be branded with an owner brand on the near (left) shoulder and an individual foaling drop number (in relation to the other foals) over the foaling year number on the off shoulder. In Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, these three brands may be placed on the near shoulder in the above order. Stock Horse and Quarter Horse classification brands are placed on the hind quarters by the classifiers.

Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds in Australia and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 are freeze branded. Standardbred brands are in the form of the Alpha Angle Branding System, which the US also uses.

In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, branding of horses is not generally mandated by the government; however, there are a few exceptions: captured Mustangs
Mustang (horse)
A Mustang is a free-roaming horse of the North American west that first descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but there is intense debate over terminology...

 made available for adoption by the BLM
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...

 are freeze-branded on the neck, usually with the Alpha Angle Branding System or with numbers, for identification. Horses that test positive for Equine Infectious Anemia
Equine infectious anemia
Equine infectious anemia or equine infectious anaemia , also known by horsemen as swamp fever, is a horse disease caused by a retrovirus and transmitted by bloodsucking insects. The virus is endemic in the Americas, parts of Europe, the Middle and Far East, Russia, and South Africa. The virus is a...

, that are quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....

d for life rather than euthasized
Animal euthanasia
Animal euthanasia is the act of putting to death painlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, an animal suffering from an incurable, especially a painful, disease or condition. Euthanasia methods are designed to cause minimal pain and distress...

, will be freeze-branded for permanent identification. Race horses
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

 of any breed are usually required by state racing commissions to have a lip tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...

, to be identified at the track. Some breed associations
Breed registry
A breed registry, also known as a stud book or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders when they are still young...

 have, at times, offered freeze branding as either a requirement for registration or simply as an optional benefit to members, and individual horse owners may choose branding as a means by which to permanently identify their animals. Currently, the issue of whether to mandate horses be implanted with RFID microchips under the National Animal Identification System
National Animal Identification System
The National Animal Identification System, is a government-run program in the United States intended to extend government animal health surveillance by identifying and tracking specific animals...

 is generating considerable controversy in the United States.

Symbols and terminology in branding

Most brands in the United States include capital letters, numeral
Numeral system
A numeral system is a writing system for expressing numbers, that is a mathematical notation for representing numbers of a given set, using graphemes or symbols in a consistent manner....

s, often combined with other symbols such as a slash, circle, half circle, cross, and bar. Brands of this type have a specialized language for "calling" the brand. Some owners prefer to use simple pictures; these brands are called using a short description of the picture (e.g., "rising sun"). Reading a brand aloud is referred to as “calling the brand“. Brands are called from left to right, top to bottom, and when one character encloses another, from outside to inside. Reading of complex brands and picture brands depends at times upon the owner's interpretation, and it may require an expert to identify some of the more complex marks.

Terms used are:
  • Upright symbols are called normally by the letters, numbers or other symbols involved.
  • "Crazy": An upside down symbol. An upside down R would be read as "Crazy R".
  • "Reverse": A reversed symbol. would be read as "Reverse K".
  • "Crazy Reverse": An upside down, reversed symbol. An upside down, reversed K would be read as "Crazy Reverse K"
  • "Lazy": Symbols turned 90 degrees. Also, a symbol turned 90 degrees, lying on its face (or right hand side) can be read as "Lazy Down" or "Lazy Right" . Similarly, a symbol turned 90 degrees, lying on its back (or left had side) can be read as "Lazy Up" or "Lazy Left". would be read as "Lazy 5" or "Lazy Up 5" or Lazy Left 5".
  • "Tumbling": a symbol tipped about 45 degrees.
  • "Flying": a symbol that starts and ends with a short serif
    Serif
    In typography, serifs are semi-structural details on the ends of some of the strokes that make up letters and symbols. A typeface with serifs is called a serif typeface . A typeface without serifs is called sans serif or sans-serif, from the French sans, meaning “without”...

    or short horizontal line attached before the left side of the top of the symbol and attached to the right side of the symbol, extending to the right of the symbol.
  • "Walking": a symbol with a short horizontal line attached to the bottom of the symbol, extending to the right of the symbol.
  • “Running”: a letter with a curving flare attached to the right side of the top of the letter, extending to the right, with the symbol sometimes also leaning to the right like an italic letter.
  • "Over": a symbol over above another symbol, but not touching the other symbol. An H above a P would be read as "H Over P".
  • "Bar": a short horizontal line. For example, a short horizontal line over an M or before an M would be read as "Bar M". Similarly, a short horizontal line under an M or after an M would be read as "M Bar." The bar can also be through the middle of the symbol and would be read as "Bar M".
  • "Rail": alternative terminology to "bar" in some areas referencing a long horizontal line. For example, a long horizontal line over a M or before an M would be read as "Rail M". Similarly, a long horizontal line under a M or after a M would be read as "M Rail."
  • "Stripe": three or more rails, one above the others.
  • "Box": a symbol within a square or rectangle or a square or rectangle by itself.
  • "Diamond": a symbol within a four sided box, the box tilted 45 degrees or a four sided box tilted 45 degrees by itself. The box sides are of equal length, and the box can be square or taller in height than in width, or greater in width than in height.
  • "Rafter or Half Diamond": a half diamond over or under another symbol, but not touching the other symbol. A K with a half diamond over it, Open side facing the K, can be read as "Rafter K" or "Half Diamond K". A K with a half diamond under it, open side facing K, can be read as "K Rafter" or "K Half Diamond".
  • "Circle": a symbol within a circle, or a circle by itself.
  • "Half Circle or Quarter Circle": a half or quarter circle above or below a symbol, but not touching the symbol. A K with a half circle above it, open side facing up, would be read as "Half Circle K". A K with a half circle below it, open side facing down, would be read as "K Half Circle".


Combinations of symbols can be made with each symbol distinct, or:
  • "Connected" or conjoined, with symbols touching. would be read as "T S connected" or TS conjoined.
  • "Combined or conjoined": symbols are partially overlaid. would be read as "J K Combined".
  • "Hanging": a symbol beneath another symbol and touching the other symbol. The hanging nomenclature may be omitted when reading the brand, such as a H with a P below it, with the top of the P touching the bottom of the right hand side of the H would be read as " H Hanging P", or just "H P".
  • "Swinging": a symbol beneath a quarter circle, the open side of the quarter circle facing the symbol, with the symbol touching the quarter circle. For example, a H with a quarter circle over it, with the top of the H touching the quarter circle would be read as "Swinging H".
  • "Rocking": a symbol above a quarter circle, the open side of the quarter circle facing the symbol, with the bottom of the symbol touching the quarter circle. For example, a H with a quarter circle under it, with the bottom of the H touching the quarter circle, is read as "Rocking H".
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