Branding at the Keuring

What is a Keuring, you ask?  Good question, because before last weekend, I didn't know either.  A Keuring is an evaluation of breeding horses and resulting offspring.  The jury addresses conformation, movement, & pedigree as related to the breeding goal & evaluation for soundness & ability for performance at the highest level of sport competition.  They judge mares, foals, yearlings, and stallions.  Some are judged "in hand" meaning they are walked around the arena, and some are judged free-jumping (no rider) over jumps.  They are also measured and depending on acceptance, branded.

The Keuring I attended and photographed last weekend was at the beautiful Claybrook Farms in Ithica, Michigan.  It is a picturesque farm in the middle of nowhere on a gravel road.  I am so glad I had my GPS to get me there!  Waino Pihl, Susan Taylor, and their entire family gave me the warmest welcome and really made me feel like a part of the family.

The Keuring itself was a learning experience for me photographically - you can always check out the proofs on my website CLICK HERE  The toughest part was the weather not cooperating!  When I got there Sunday, the weather was beautiful, clear, and sunny.  Of course on Monday, the day of the Keuring, it was overcast and raining all morning!  I was able to compensate with my photography for the outdoor photography, but admittedly, I struggled with the indoor.  It was so dark, and so overcast, it was virtually impossible to capture high action free jumping.

For me, the most interesting part of the process was the branding!  In my 25+ years around horses, I have never actually witnessed a horse being branded before.  At this facility, they used a hot brand.  Some places now use cold branding using liquid nitrogen, but that was not the case here.

The brand being heated in the oven in preparation for application

The KWPN Dutch Warmblood Brand

The super-heated brand is literally pressed onto the horse's left rear hindquarter, above the gaskin.  It makes a scar where the hair won't grow back, or if it does it will be white (or black, if it's a light colored horse).

The location of the brand

I was absolutely amazed at the lack of response from the horses involved.  No twitch, no tranquilizer. The handlers were extremely experienced, and simply covered the horse's left eye with their hand so they couldn't see what was coming, and the entire process was over in a split second.  The horses didn't fuss, whinny, kick, or really show any pain at all!  I am sure it wasn't pain-free, but I've seen a horse react more to tightening a girth than to this branding process.  The worst part was the smell of burnt hair!  Yuck.

Here is a fun series of images as a horse was being branded - it was so quick!  I really thought this was the most amazing process to watch, and I hope you've enjoyed reading about it.

The final brand, close up!

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