More branding...

Branding has it's origin from the early pioneers and settlers of the old west. Back then they didn't use any fences, more or less all land was completely open range. So the branding was necessary to be able to sort the cattle when it was time for round up. In the past many land/cattle owners did this together and sorted the herds after which brand the cows had. Nowadays in Montana most land are fenced, but since the pastures are so large, cows always get lost or end up in a far away neighbours cowherd. If you only have eartags on your cows, it's not possible to prove your ownership... I've heard it's not a law anymore in Montana to brand your cattle, but if you don't and they get lost you will have a very hard time get your cows back...

The way people brand nowadays is slightly different from ranch to ranch. Most people still use the same type of branding iron that the early settlers did. They are handmade and heated up by open flames from a real fire, or by using gas. Some people use electrical branding tools. The actual brand is unique for each owner. You can either inherit or buy a certain brand. Then they are all registered to each owner. Many large ranchers own several brands and some has been in the family for many generations.  It is a lot of thoughts put behind how a brand is designed. To make it clear and not to difficult to mark on the calves, it needs to be simple, and not have too many angles and curves. Some brands are very desirable and even famous so when they get on the market they can be very expensive ( 10.000 usd and more...)

The way you catch and hold the calves while branding it, varies to. Sometimes the old school way of roping and draging the calf down to the ground is the only possible way or most convenient. Sometimes if the herd is relatively close to your equipment and corrals, it's preferable to use a squeeze chute to hold the calves. Some ranchers choose the same way they've done for generations, others prefer to do it another way. To brand a calf the proper way takes a lot of training, It's a work of art to get it right. The pressure on your branding iron needs to be just enough to make a visible mark and not too deep to make a blurry scar. On top of that you first need to burn the hair which can be different from calf to calf...I might get the chance to try later! No matter how the procedure is done, the main thing is that all calves need to be branded before they are going out to the summer pastures and spread over thousends of acres...

Here are some more pictures...

Hehe..Giving vaccine in old Wranglers and Peak Performance jacket.