Hot Branding Muscle Damage

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Amme

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Hi Everyone,

A little advice needed if you'd be so kind.

I'm interested in a pony, he's such a sweetheart but I'm worried about one thing. The woman who is looking after him (owner died) said that he had serious muscle damage after a bad hot brand. She's not very knowledgeable about horses so I'm going to get him checked out by a vet but I wondered if any of you have had experience with this type of muscle damage and know if rehabilitation is possible? I have no need to ride him right away (I'm pregnant!) so I'm happy to put in the ground work and all that - will be a nice little project!

My main concern is if this type of muscle damage from a burn is permanent. Apparently he used to be a good little jumper but I really just want him for hacking out and to keep my other horse company.

Thank you in advance!

Amme :-)
 
Ouch indeed! I think nowadays freeze branding is done instead though I think not so much here in Portugal... I'm talking proper red hot iron brand here, left on too long apparently.
 
OK....so how old is the horse now and how old was he when branded? Where is the brand situated and which muscles are involved? You say he used to be a good little jumper.....is he not any longer and if not, what behaviours does he display?

Hot branding if done properly should be only superficial; however, I have treated horses in the past that have been involved in fires and that can be a whole different ball game, but unlikely to be the case in your instance.
 
MY First pony a New Forest Had been Hot Branded with a bar C mark which was the way in the late 60`s if the branding has been carried out properly I can see no reason for muscle damage tom have taken place
 
Thousands of horses have been and, in some cases, still are hot branded for studbooks, I guess it's possible that someone got it really, really wrong - although the people who do it for the studbooks are usually very experienced and able - but it's certainly not anything that usually happens. The brand is tiny when it's done and affects only the skin layers. I used to ride a horse that had freaked out during is branding - also very unusual - and had a huge raking scar but he certainly had no problem with it and evented to a high level.

Why do they think this pony was damaged? Under what circumstances did he get branded? Can you see the damage? What does a vet say?? Never say never but I might be inclined to take the story with a grain of salt if there is no obvious physical evidence of harm.

As to rehab, if there is a muscle injury, it depends on the injury. A vet and then a physio would be best placed to advise you. The right groundwork will help but I'd want to know more about exactly what I was dealing with.
 
Good replies to this post and I would definitely get the vet out and go from there. Be interesting to hear the outcome, hope it all goes well and you take him on.
 
I've branded circa 1k head of cattle and approx 100 horses with no issues. Everything in Australia was branded (& some were a right messy job) but nothing appeared to have any muscle damage or any work load prohibiting issues due to brands.

Where is the brand? When looking at the horse how does one side compare to another e.g. If branded on LHS quarters is there any difference in shape and size to RHS?

If you're getting it vet checked prior to purchase anyway just raise your concerns with the vet.

As an aside I'd ask to see the written report from the vet check before purchasing. I got stung going on the word of my then vet practice who vet checked my trial horse prior to purchase only to find out 2yrs laterthat something completely different had been written in his record!
 
Most horses are branded, are done so quite young, so if there was "muscle" damage surely it would have shown up by now? You say he used to be a good jumper, so it would seem strange that the muscle damage would have occurred later on as a result of the branding.

It's still quite common here too. I can't help but think that it is truly barbaric in this day and age - imagine if someone suggested we brand cats and dogs.
 
There will be no damage to the horse by hot branding as it only effects the hide and it is self caurterizing. It is a cheap and cost effective way of marking a horse and is visable to anyone unlike a microchip. I have seen hundreds of horses branded and none suffer and more than a slap on the rump. The owners are often stressed out and I did suggest to one he need treatment for strees not the horse.
 
Thank you all so much for your replies. To be honest I'm having trouble getting a straight answer from anyone that knows the horse... the woman who has him at the moment seems to change her story all the time! I thought that he had been branded and then couldn't jump but I was told yesterday that he was branded much earlier. She also said he couldn't be ridden ever again but she thought that when a horse becomes injured that it can never be fixed!!

Oh what fun! I wouldn't bother with all this for just any horse but he and my husband seem to have a very lovely bond and this little horse follows him around like a dog!

He's coming over to my place for a trial and so that I can sort out his hooves and get a vet in to have a proper look at him... and of course to see if my mare can happily live with him!!

Thanks again everyone... I'm becoming more convinced that this was a jumping injury rather than a burn issue...
 
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