Freezemarking, are your horses done?

[HappyHollyDays]

I am going to get my new pony freeze marked as although he is chipped he has absolutely no distinguishing marks anywhere. The cost appears to be comparable but which company should I use?

 

[dizzyneddy]

I'm surprised at this - lots of showing societies clearly state in their rules that freezebrands should NOT result in horses being marked down.

Thanks Catkin l thought this may be the case but it was commented when l went to a local show that l'd never been to before by one of the judges. He was nice enough but seemed to make unconstructive comments with most of the competitors. Never happened at other shows that l've been to though but each to their own l've tough skin

 

[hayinamanger]

Great replies, thank you. Mine are all chipped, I have never had them checked since chipping, so good point there, I know they can migrate. I have a grey, a coloured, a dun and a palamino amongst them, so different methods required. Have any of your horses found it painful?

 

[Hoofing-it]

Thanks Starryeyed- that's a lot less than I thought it would be- will definitely look into that

 

[stroppymare153]

One of ours is - together with a loss of use mark. He is grey so the Farmkey lady said the brands had to be left on longer Barely managed to get all the marks done - he was a total git - so I can only assume he did find it painful!! But, although it seemed to scar quite badly - like a burn, with the skin peeling off each of the marks, it is hardly visible now. I wouldn't get the others done - hate how it looks on dark horses and think its quite expensive to maintain the registration.

 

[pip6]

Been waiting 18 months for an appointment! Apparently not enough people in our area to warrant them coming.

 

[weebarney]

What are the benefits of subscribing?

 

[shellonabeach]

Yes all 3 of mine are done including the grey, after the Theft of Tic Toc I had my 30 year old companion pony done just before Christmas and you can see the numbers already

For me it's a no brainer like a number plate on a car, makes the horse easily identifiable by the police / non-horsey members of the public

 

[Spot_the_Risk]

hayinamanger - my four year old bucked whilst the irons were held in place, less with each of the four markers, he had to be re-done as only one (the one he didn't buck at!) took, and he stood peacefully the second time.

 

[kerrieberry2]

Mare is done, boy isn't, yet! I've asked the company to quote to come out and do him, only problem is in on my own so wont get any discount for a shared appointment! but will defo get him done!

 

[russianhorse]

My 24 year old is freeze marked - I had him done 20 years ago. Unfortunately he had already been freeze marked with 79 on his back, so we just got couple of letters added to it. Its a pain though because its under the saddle I can't clip it, so it's not that great to read. However was definitely a deterrent when he was stolen years ago, as he was dumped in a field not too far from where they took him

My 4 year old has been microchipped but I intend to get him freeze marked very soon, and on his shoulder so clear to see

 

[Mince Pie]

Mine is done but I regularly have to clip over it otherwise it's illegible!

 

[moana]

Absolutely. from my first horse mayt years age. I get it done asap with an new equines I get and unfortuanetly have seen just how effective and worthwhile it is.

 

[mirage]

Yes,knobberpony was done when we bought her,and is chipped.She is pure grey though,so you can only see it in summer.I keep meaning to clip over it so it can be seen all year round.Loan pony isn't done,but is also chipped.

 

[splashgirl45]

This worries me too so I will be covering his freezemark for shows even though I have been assured it makes no difference to placings!

i had my previous mare done when it was only farmkey doing them and her number was A311, (she is not around anymore unfortunately) i showed her in hand as a 2 and 3 year old
and she was never unplaced, the freezemark was on her saddle patch and very obvious. she even won 2 classes at county level so the judges all that time ago did not mark her down...i would always have any horse freezemarked as any idiot can read a number, but to compare markings is not so easy..if people worry that the mark isnt visible in the winter, clip the small area so it is visible!!

 

[Piglet]

I have my horse microchipped and also he has a micro mark (a horse shoe freeze mark brand) on hi. To show that he has been chipped

 

[Venevidivici]

My horse is already microchipped and I'm interested in getting him freezemarked but whilst I can clearly see that the biggest benefit is the "obviousness' of the mark (especially to non-horsey people), is there any clear, substantiated evidence that freezemarked stolen horses are recovered more easily/in greater numbers/more successfully/faster than non freezemarked horses?

(I have seen freezemarked horses on stolen/missing lists almost as commonly as non freezemarked ones but there is no way of knowing the proportion of those freezemarked ones that were found and
returned home compared to the unmarked ones. I'm also not sure how much I would trust such figures (if any exist) from the freezemarking companies themselves!)

 

[Shysmum]

My lad is micro - chipped, obviously, but where is the deterrent in that ? There is none. the type of people who steal horses are hardly the type to be bothered about a chip being found - but they ARE bothered if a freeze marked horse is found in their booty.

Imho, micro chips are only useful to ensure a horse that is being vetted is indeed the one with the passport. As a former RSPCA Inspector, I don't think I ever heard of a scanner being used for a horse - tho this may now have changed ?

If you want to keep your horse safe, get it marked ! It's the only serious way of keeping your horse safe. Who cares about the look of the brand over losing their horse ?

 

[Spoiled cob]

All mine have been branded by Farmkey, my cob was already marked on his back do I have had a micro mark put on his shoulder. My 4 year old was done a few weeks after I got him on the shoulder he has a personalized mark.

I also got my saddles microchipped by them just in case.

 

[Venevidivici]

Yeah, the 'look' of the mark doesn't bother me and isn't an issue but surely someone must have collected some efficacy data at some point?

I have (fortunately) never had a horse stolen before, or know anyone who has,so don't know much about the horse theft "underworld" - so say my horse was freezemarked and ends up at some sales somewhere - will the sales agents/office check the freezemark with the company that did it, to see if he's stolen, as a matter of routine? (Or the microchip for that matter?) Or just take the word of the person who puts him into the sales? Are there people at sales looking out for marked horses,checking them against 'reported stolen' lists?

 

[Venevidivici]

And what about at abbatoirs? Are any checks done there? (I can't imagine so, it wouldn't be cost-effective?)

 

[Shysmum]

Et voila ! Out showing, and no the judge's didn't mention the brand, but DID say he wasn't fat enough ! So this was our first and last show.

The brand stands for Summer of Love, 1967 (Hubs birthday)...................just kidding !

 

[Venevidivici]

He looks lovely and the mark is unobtrusive. (And I agree with you, a perfectly nice weight!)

 

[Shysmum]

Thank you ! This was just a local Riding Club show, and to be told by two judges that he needed to gain weight has put me off the showing world forever.

I don't even "see" the mark any more - you get used to it very quickly.

 

[mudmudmud]

Mine are micro chipped and one is grey so wouldn't show as a deterrent

 

[NZJenny]

Interesting that you all refer to it as freeze marking - here it is still freeze branding. A marketing thing maybe?

Anyhow, it isn't common here, but then neither is horse theft. Micro-chipping is becoming far more common - especially as it is now required for all new registrations with the FEI. All Standardbreds are required to be freeze branded on the neck, and TB's are still hot branded on both shoulders.

However a number of breed organisations require branding - my Arabian gelding is hot branded on both shoulders and I bought a cross bred mare earlier this year and she is freeze branded on her near shoulder. I hate it - while it is clean, it is quite big and I'm quite pleased that she will grey out and it will be invisible.

I haven't been involved in freeze branding (but it is still a burn), but have been around enough hot branding to know it isn't fun. And for those who tell me "it's just like a slap on the rump", I bet you won't be lining up to demonstrate how painless it is anytime soon. A horse may have a thicker hide, but they can feel a fly land, so as far as I'm concerned it belongs in the dark ages. Still. JMO.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

NZJ -I have an extremely sensitive mare and she stood perfectly still to be freezemarked with only a handfull of treats to distract her. She didn't even step away (just wanted another treat) and four separate marks were done on her shoulder with no sedation or local anaesthetic.

 

[nic85]

I know Ive already replied but thought I'd answer the cost Q's. I had my horse done January 2011 ( I had rung Farmkey earlier but they said due to horses age, under a year old, they prefer to wait a bit longer so over a year old due to growth etc) My horse was nearly 2 when she was done

it looked like this

Now at nearly 5 it looks like this

It cost me £85 for the mark and 5 years registration on Farmkeys database

 

[Nudibranch]

In response to the microchip and pain comments, mine are both chipped and both marked. I don't know the stats but common sense tells me a thief is less likely to take a horse with a mark. Maybe not 100% but it's all about reducing the risk. A microchip alone is no deterrent at all, and requires someone to bother scanning in the event they turn up at an abattoir/auction, etc. Anyone can see a freezemark.

As for pain, well the mare is extremely vet phobic, to the point where she will attack him. According to her previous owner she didn't blink when she was marked. My youngster didn't either - the Farmkey lady was a little apprehensive as he was standing 16.1 at 18 months and she thought he might react. But he literally didn't budge. I don't believe the pain from freezing is anything like that from hot branding. If you've ever had cryosurgery you would probably agree!

 

[Meems]

Been waiting 18 months for an appointment! Apparently not enough people in our area to warrant them coming.

Golly, you must live somewhere extremely remote! Surely they could make the effort to come out to you, they must have quiet times when they're not booked up.