• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association

Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association

To Honor and Protect the Ranching Way of Life

  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • Why Join
    • Leadership
    • Staff
    • TSCRA Partners
    • FAQs
    • Newsroom
    • Sponsorships
    • Employment
  • What We Do
    • Theft and Law
    • Issues and Policy
    • Education
    • Young Cattle Raisers
    • The Cattleman Magazine
    • Disaster Relief Fund
    • Cattle Raisers Insurance
    • Cattle Raisers Trading Co
    • Students and Youth
  • Events
    • Cattle Raisers Convention
    • Summer Meeting
    • Policy Conference
    • Ranch Gatherings
    • Ranching 101
  • Join
  • Member Center
  • TSCRA Store
  • Show Search
Hide Search

How to Design a Brand

The best rule to follow is to keep the image simple. Simple brand designs are easier to read and are less painful for the livestock.

A brand design consists of two or more symbols. Many brands have three units in the design. Few brands have more than three units.

Brands records include the design of the brand and its position on the livestock.

Left or right:

Brand placement on hip
Brand placement on shoulder

Brands are based on four kinds of marks, used alone or in combination.

  • Letter of the alphabet
  • Numbers
  • Lines and circles
  • Pictures

Letters

Regular

Regular A brand

Tilting, tumbling or Toppling

Tumbling A brand

Walking, with legs and feet on the bottom, but seldom on round or square-bottomed letters

Walking A brand

Winged or flying

Flying A brand

Running, denoted by curves

Running A brand

Dragged

Dragged A brand

Lazy letters, lying face-up or face-down

Lazy A brand

Crazy, upside down

Crazy A brand

Numbers

Walking

Walking 3 brand

Flying

Flying 4 brand

Dragged

Dragged 4 brand

Lazy

Lazy 2 brand

Combinations of letters may be joined

Joined 23 brand

Lines and Circles

Bar: a short horizontal line that can be used at the top, bottom or middle of a brand

Bar brand

Rail: about twice as long as a bar, may have letters sitting or resting above it

Rail brand

Two rails

Two Rails brand

Three rails are read as stripes

Stripes brand

Four rails are read as pigpen

Pigpen brand

Diagonal lines are read as slashes

Slashes brand

Bench

Rafter

Rafter brand

Diamond

Diamond brand

Double diamond

Double Diamond brand

Diamond and a half

Diamond and a Half brand

Open A, not half diamond

Open A brand

Box or square

Box Square brand

Cross

Cross brand

Circle, or with letters, read as the “O”

Circle O brand

A letter inside a circle is read as Circle Letter, such as Circle K, not O K

Circle K brand

Double O

Double O brand

Mashed O or goose egg

Mashed O brand

Buckle

Buckle brand

Lapped circles

Lapped Circles brand

Half circles

Half Circles brand

Three links

Three Links brand

Quarter circles can point in any direction as long as they stand by themselves

Quarter Circles brand

A quarter or half circle attached to the top of a letter or figure is read as swinging

Swinging R brand

A curved mark attached to the bottom of a letter is read as “rocking letter,” such as a rocking H

Rocking H brand

If reversed, lowercase h is attached at a curved mark, it is read as rocking chair

Rocking Chair brand

A letter above a quarter circle is read “letter quarter circle,” such as H quarter circle

H Quarter Circle brand

The letters C and U often look like horseshoes

Horseshoes brand

A cross with quarter circles at the ends of all 4 arms is called a “cross wrenches”

Cross Wrenches brand

Three Cs joined by a bar is read as a “chain C”

Chain C brand

Two Cs joined by a bar can be read “C bar C” or “lazy wrench”

Lazy Wrench brand

Brands are read from left to right, top to bottom, from outside in.

Sometimes when the letters or symbols are joined, the word “connected” is included in the reading.

Samples:

  • W F Connected brand
  • Four F Connected brand
  • K L Connected brand
  • T H Connected brand
  • J N B Connected brand
  • H K Connected brand
  • T T Connected brand
  • M L Connected brand
  • A Cross L Connected brand

However, often the symbols are read as though they were separated by space.

Samples:

  • Seven Up brand
  • A N brand
  • Double H brand
  • R Arrow brand
  • Four E brand
  • O W brand

For more information, please call the law enforcement department of Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, 800-242-7820. For Oklahoma, go to www.okcattleman.org.

Primary Sidebar

What We Do

Theft and Law
Find a Special Ranger
Theft and Law FAQs
Brand Registration
How to Read a Brand
How to Design a Brand
Brand FAQ
Report Thefts/Strays
Tip Hotline
Theft Prevention Tips
Livestock Laws
Special Ranger Tips
Lost/Stolen Bulletin
Issues and Policy
TSCRA PAC
Education
Ranching 101
Ranch Gatherings
TX Beef Quality Producer
Young Cattle Raisers
YLS Legislative Conference
The Cattleman Magazine
The Cattleman Magazine Stories
Media Kit
Cattle Raisers Insurance
Cattle Raisers Trading Co.

The Cattleman Magazine

The Cattleman magazine is received monthly by TSCRA members as part of their membership in the organization.

Join Todaybecome a TSCRA member

RSS Upcoming Events

  • An error has occurred, which probably means the feed is down. Try again later.

Search our site

Footer

Who We Are

Why Join
Leadership
Staff
TSCRA Partners
FAQs
Newsroom
Sponsorships
Employment

What We Do

Theft and Law
Issues and Policy
Education
Young Cattle Raisers
The Cattleman Magazine
Cattle Raisers Insurance
Cattle Raisers Trading Co.
Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association

Information

Cattle Raisers Blog
News Releases
Bereavements
Events
Media Kit
Tip Hotline
Get Involved
Links

Membership

Membership Center
Membership Center Instructions
Join
Renew
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

PO BOX 101988
FORT WORTH, TX 76185

1-800-242-7820

© 2023 Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association; All Rights Reserved.

COPYRIGHT | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS OF USE