06/08/2026
Livestock has been branded throughout history, and still today, primarily for the purpose of identifying the ownership and to prevent theft.
BUT, alongside the claim to the horse or cattle comes the identity of the brand. Typically a breeder or owner will have their horse carry their brand. There is an ever changing & expanding set of bloodlines in the horse world, so while, yes, being intentional on how a horse is bred to set it up for the correct mindset, athletic prospect, and structural soundness for the job he needs is important, a horse is really only as good as what he's taught. People handle and teach a horse, and that horse may bear the brand of the facility those people own or operate under. That's a badge of honor...a walking review... a name tag for every person in an arena, ranch, or anywhere else you find yourself with horses, to read.
I value the history of authentic western tradition and stewarding the care and culture of good stock. But also I ramble on about brands now, because this particular brand shows up a lot in my photos! -P on a horse's left shoulder is the CA brand of . It's my alma mater and they run a fantastic program through enterprise classes, where students can be involved in the breeding, foaling out, halter breaking, starting, and production sale (+ every step in between) of young performance prospect horses. These young horses are NICE colts that have bright futures. They require someone to carry them on to reach a full potential, as they are sold as 2/3 year olds, but they have had an exceptional foundation being handled with great care and with students eager to learn and grow every step of the way.
These 4 mares are 3 yo's (except the pretty bay, big girl Brandy is a 5yo!) and have been set up for success. They are amazingly minded young horses and have such bright futures ahead of them with these wonderful owners of theirs. They proudly wear a -P brand as graduates of the program. Learn more about where your horses may have come from by investigating their brands if you don't already know. They may have more to their story in that "badge of honor" than you know!
