 The practice of branding, like the first cattle themselves, came from the Spanish.  The original brands were made using straight lines or parts of a circle because they were easy to make from iron.  As the ability to make branding irons became easier, brands changed to include picture brands and running letters.  Brands are usually made of capital letters and numbers.

 Brands are read in one of the following ways:  Left to Right  Top to Bottom  Outside In  When reading more than one figure they are read in the order they appear.  The ultimate expert on what a brand is called is the owner of the brand.

 Running letters are written in cursive: Originally running letters were only those letters where the pencil isn’t picked up.

 Figures which commonly are used either as a whole or part of a whole:  There are lots of things that can be done with a circle. The only time the circle is read as the number zero or the letter o is when it is a brand made up of numbers only or as a letter which is part of a word.

 Straight Lines and boxes

 Diamonds

 The position of the figure in the brand determines what it is called:  As an example, lets take the letter R ◦ The figure by itself is just that; R is R ◦ If it is laying down, it becomes lazy R ◦ If it is upside down, it becomes crazy R ◦ If it is backwards, it becomes reverse R ◦ It if it given “wings”, it become flying R ◦ If it is given feet going forward, it becomes walking R ◦ If the feet are going backward, it becomes dragging R ◦ If it is written in cursive, it becomes running R ◦ If it is touching another figure, use the reading rules ◦ If it looks like it is falling, it is tumbling. When figures touch: ◦ If it hangs down from a quarter circle, it is swinging. ◦ If it rests on a quarter circle, it is rocking. ◦ If they are touching, they are sometimes called “connected”.

 Sometimes the figure is repeated, one up and one down. Frequently the letter is read as “up and down” Exemptions The brand could be read “A, Crazy A”

 All the numbers can be used the same as letters: walking, dragging, crazy, lazy, etc.  When it is only the numbers, they can be read like any number or as the two numbers “connected”.

 Technology allowed brands to evolve into “picture” brands.

Important facts: Brands are registered with the Colorado Brand Board. The Brand is registered by it’s design (what it looks like) rather than what it is called, so there may be three brands called the same but they look different. (one going left to right, one going top to bottom and one going outside in. All of the brands below are “Box 7”.

 Now that you have the basics of reading brands, can you read these brands?