Do freezebrands actually deter thieves?

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Herpesas

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Was just browsing through the 'Stolen' section of the forum and it seems quite a few ponies that have gone missing (whilst on loan) are freezemarked. Having thought about freezebranding the hoss I'm now wondering how effective it actually is?
 
I was told a few years ago that only two freeze branded ponies that had 'disappeared' had never been found. One was a grey and the other a palomino so the brands never really showed. One of these ponies was subsequently found when it was clipped out and the people now owning it called to find out about registering it in their name. It had been several years and the pony had had several homes before the true owners being informed he had been found. The allowed the new owners to keep the pony.

Many incidences of freeze branded horses, with rugs on, being stollen from fields and then found some miles away minus their rugs. Also any abattoir will want to see registration papers for a freeze branded horse.
 
Figures in a field full of piebalds her freezemark would stick out like a sore thumb ;)

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as when untrimmed she would blend right in
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I had a cremello/palamino freezemarked twice! The only time you can see it is in the summer if I clip it close otherwise invisible! Farmkey should have really not have done it... I was very naive first horse and thought I was doing the best for security etc. But they wanted their money etc. I did get him microchipped too.

Would have it done on others too. I think its a deterrent.
 
Could be a myth, but I think I read about a horse being stolen and the thieves used dye to cover up the freeze mark.. No idea if this actually happens, but deffo did see it somewhere :) xx
 
I think it does act as a deterrent and you stand a much better chance of getting your horse returned if it is freezemarked.

I know that it is much easier to keep a look out for a missing frezemarked horse at sales rather than the description of a bay/coloured or whatever.

Even a dyed mark will grow out, so a future purchaser would find the mark, and I think it would be pretty hard to match anyway.

Mine is marked on the shoulder and it was money well spent imo.
 
Anyone can read a Number or letters, if you explain to a police officer going to check a horse that its a numberplate for the horse rather than a bay with three white socks and a whorl on his forehead etc., The trouble with horses missing on loan is the owner probably hasnt realised until its too late that the horse is missing, if we can get everyone putting their horses on loan into the habit of informing NED and PIO and freezemark company that they are on loan and not to change the details for anyone else then we can start to save more horses and put a stop to this growing trend.
 
piebaldsparkle said:
Figures in a field full of piebalds her freezemark would stick out like a sore thumb ;)

IMG_0098.jpg

as when untrimmed she would blend right in
IMG_0332.jpg
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She is gorgeous! if a little grubby lol

Just to hijack the thread a bit, my horse has white marks behind his withers, where I believe a broken tree'd saddle was used on him. I was wondering, would it work to extend it all under his saddle with a freeze mark, a) to disguise the white hairs (theres a fair few) and b) ive never seen it, and being a steel grey, it would be very noticable and obvious when untacked/unrugged

It would be along his spine though, thats the only issue...

thoughts??

bexcy-bee x
 
Possibly.....

I do have a large notice in the main yard which says 'all equines here are visibly branded and also microchipped'

All rugs are liberally smeared with paint - with postcode of yard painted in at least 6" size along each side. Just makes them less palatable to take, as this doesn't come off when rugs are washed either :o

Fingers xx'd....... the only things ever stolen over the past 30+ yrs have been headcollars & odd bits of grooming kit (during sumer holidays:rolleyes:) and rugs (a long time ago, when I put new ones on at a weekend & didn't mark them)
 
I wouldn't freezemark on the spine, and I very much doubt any company would do so. :confused:

I recently had my grey branded for LOU and I'm fairly certain that they said all greys have to be done on the shoulder. I didn't want her freezemarked with letters/numbers as well as the 'L' so had her microchipped instead.

I have to say, with my two, theft is not something I worry about :o
 
GypsyTheCob said:
We clip gypsys in the winter as it gets do hairy it just blends in and it stands out more if clipped...
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Got to say what a nice cob you have........looks just like mine (sorry just my kind) I bet that was a pain ful freezemark sensitive.....was he good to have it done?

The failed freezemark(s) i had done was on his shoulder.....unless you know its there you wouldnt see it. I do think as its visible on most horses it is a deterrent. Mine is a bugger to load so perhaps thats his deterrent!
 
Puppy said:
I wouldn't freezemark on the spine, and I very much doubt any company would do so. :confused:

I recently had my grey branded for LOU and I'm fairly certain that they said all greys have to be done on the shoulder. I didn't want her freezemarked with letters/numbers as well as the 'L' so had her microchipped instead.

I have to say, with my two, theft is not something I worry about :o
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That was my thoughts for it! I didn't think it would be possible, though never having seen it doen, didn't know what reactions/how painful etc etc I just thought it would cover his horrible white marks, and also be very obvious. Hmmm, have to think of a new idea now lol

bexcy-bee x
 
indie999 said:
I had a cremello/palamino freezemarked twice! The only time you can see it is in the summer if I clip it close otherwise invisible! Farmkey should have really not have done it... I was very naive first horse and thought I was doing the best for security etc. But they wanted their money etc. I did get him microchipped too.

Would have it done on others too. I think its a deterrent.
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If it can be seen when the horse is clipped then it has done the job, you just need to clip a msall square every couple of weeks or so to keep it visible - that isn't a failure! I had a grey pony marked many years ago when freezemarking was just starting, we just kept clipping around the mark.
 
Indie999- we gave him some magic calmer as he doesn't like people prodding and poking him or anything to do with vets :D they said it was pretty much pain free and that was the only black Mark on him unless it went on his neck which he would have hated.
As you can see it is as close to the White as we could get to it wasn't nearer his flank :)
 
To non horsey people, which do you think is easier to understand?

'my missing horse has a numberplate on her right hand side as you look at her head, it says PUZ3'

'my missing horse is skewbald. She has two White socks on her off side. Her forelock is dark and her mane is mixed. Her flanks have these marks and her near side hock has a distinctive mark. She has a whorl and a snip on her nose. Her nose is also roman'

Really?!

Xx
 
Cedars said:
To non horsey people, which do you think is easier to understand?

'my missing horse has a numberplate on her right hand side as you look at her head, it says PUZ3'

'my missing horse is skewbald. She has two White socks on her off side. Her forelock is dark and her mane is mixed. Her flanks have these marks and her near side hock has a distinctive mark. She has a whorl and a snip on her nose. Her nose is also roman'

Really?!

Xx
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You're absolutely right, but my question was does it deter thieves from stealing them in the first place not how well can they be traced once stolen.
 
Well think sensibly-would you steal something easier to hide, or something that has a massive beacon saying FIND ME!

All we can do to protect our horses is make them as unappealing to them as possible. This means padlocks, people around, headcollars locked away, fences really secure, CCTV if possible etc.

At the end of the day if someone wants your horse, nothing you do will stop them. So all you can do then is make them as easy to recover as possible. Xx
 
bakedbean said:
in a word...no.
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Interesting Bakebean - but why do you hold that view. It would be much more useful if you could explain why!!

Do you know some light fingered people who wouldn't be put off because they could dispose of it (alive? dead?) and it would still be worth the effort?

Or do you know of a slaughter market which is outside the abbatoirs and believe there is a market for horse meat?

or have you had bad experience where you had a freezemarked horse stolen?

Really interested why you have come to that conclusion.
 
IME thieves don't think sensibly, they're cunning and think of ways around 'complications' that last long enough to get the end result.

I think it would be interesting to find out how many horses with freezemarks are stolen each year. Similarly how many horses with microchips are stolen despite signs around the property stating they are microchipped. Do they chance it in the hope that they can get away with it? Say, if they were stealing the horses to sell for meat or abroad?

I'm not knocking freezebranding, I'm just interested in the actual effectiveness of visual deterants rather than the perceived effectiveness.
 
Perhaps best to look at this another way then. Does freezemarking your horse make them any MORE likely to be stolen? No. So IMO it's worth doing, just in case it does make them less likely to be stolen, or easier to recover.
 
bexcy-bee said:
She is gorgeous! if a little grubby lol

Just to hijack the thread a bit, my horse has white marks behind his withers, where I believe a broken tree'd saddle was used on him. I was wondering, would it work to extend it all under his saddle with a freeze mark, a) to disguise the white hairs (theres a fair few) and b) ive never seen it, and being a steel grey, it would be very noticable and obvious when untacked/unrugged

It would be along his spine though, thats the only issue...

thoughts??

bexcy-bee x
Click to expand...

Thanks :)

No that would not be possible all grey horses are 'bald' marked i.e. the irons are left on longer, so the hair follicle is killed completely and never grows hair again, thus when the horse greys out and goes white (as they all do) the dark skin will contrast against the white hair. Bald marks are only done on the shoulder.

images
 
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