How to Read a Cattle Brand

Brands are generally made up of letters, numbers or other characters and marks. A ranch’s brand is sometimes derived from initials of its original owner, but in the early days of ranching, often a rancher would buy a herd of cattle as well as the brand. Other times, a brand’s origin was based solely on an effort of creating a figure that was difficult for thieves to alter. Today, all legitimate brands are registered by state. Most brands can be read quite easily, and the component parts shown below will help you learn to call a brand like an experienced cowhand. 

Can you guess what these two brands are? (Scroll down for answers)

answers: Bar B Q, Two Lazy Two P