Guides · Ranch brandsHow to Read a Cattle Brand

The reading order

The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, the Montana Department of Livestock and the National Park Service all teach the same three rules:

1. Left to right. Two letters side by side are read in order, like any word.
2. Top to bottom. A bar above a T is Bar T. Move the bar under the T and it's T Bar.
3. Outside in. A shape around a letter is read first, so an R inside a circle is Circle R and a J inside a diamond is Diamond J.

Some brand offices add a word for position. Montana writes a bar under 9V as "9V Over Bar."

The words brands are read by

Bar

A short straight line across the top, bottom or middle of a brand. One about twice as long is a rail.

Rocking

A letter sitting on a quarter circle, with its bottom touching the curve, like a rocking chair: Rocking H. If the letter sits above a curve it doesn't touch, it's read H Quarter Circle instead.

Lazy and tumbling

A letter lying on its side is lazy: Lazy S. One tipped partway over is tumbling.

Flying

A letter with a short dash or wing out each side.

Walking and dragging

A letter with legs or feet added is walking. Arizona Highways adds that feet pointing backward make it dragging.

Running

A letter made with curving flares and rounded corners, like the King Ranch's Running W.

Connected

Letters or symbols joined into one mark. Owners often leave the word out when they say the brand.

Swinging or hanging

A symbol hung below another one. A curve over the top of a letter is also read as swinging.

Circle, box and diamond

Shapes around a letter, read first. A circle beside letters can also be read as the letter O. A curve that doesn't touch a letter is a half circle or quarter circle.

Crazy and reverse

An upside-down letter is crazy. A backward one is reverse.

Slash and rafter

A diagonal line is a slash. Montana calls / a Montana Slash and \ a Wyoming Slash. A rafter is a roof peak over a letter.

The sources don't agree on every detail, such as where the wings go on a flying letter or which way a lazy letter faces. Check how your own state words it.

Reading our six sample brands

• Bar T: the bar is above the T, so it's read first.
• Circle R: outside in, so the circle comes before the R.
• Diamond J: the same rule with a diamond.
• Lazy S: an S lying on its side.
• Rocking 7: a 7 on a rocker. In our file the 7 sits just above the curve. By the strict rule the bottom of the 7 touches it, so slide the two pieces together if you want it read as rocking.
• L B Bar: top to bottom, the joined L and B and then the bar underneath. It's our shop's own mark.

Brands are recorded by each state

In Iowa, livestock brands are recorded with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship under chapter 169A of the Iowa Code. Only someone who owns livestock can record one. The fee is $25 for each spot on the animal, out of six: the left or right shoulder, rib or hip. A recording lasts five years and can be renewed. Other states have their own brand offices and rules.

Our files are for decorative pieces like signs, coasters and cutting boards. Before you put a brand on livestock, look it up with your state's brand office.

Make your own brand piece

Our Ranch Brand Alphabet is 51 laser files: the letters A to Z and the numbers 0 to 9, all 1 in tall, nine marks (a bar, rocker, circle, half circle, box, rafter and slash, and a diamond in two sizes) and the six 2 in sample brands above. They're shapes, not a font, so you set each piece where you want it and build the brand yourself. Black fill engraves and the red hairline is the cut line.

Designed in Iowa by Level B Supply Co. Made with help from an AI generator under the creative direction of the shop owner.