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For
registration purposes, all Standardbreds must be positively identified.
In the US, this is done by a number tattooed on the inside of the lower
lip, and in Australia and New Zealand it is done with code symbols
freeze-branded high on the off side of the neck. If you want to
identify your horse and learn about its breeding and racing history, not
to mention register it for competition, you need to read the
freeze-brand number. It is usually clear but not always, and you may
have to clip the area to make it readable. 
The
structure of the Alpha Angle system.
The
code used in Australia (and elsewhere) is the Alpha
Angle System. New Zealand uses the "TVI" system, which has
some similar symbols but with different meanings. Freeze branding was
first introduced in New Zealand in 1970, and VIC, TAS, WA and QLD in
1978 with NSW last to change over in 1979. |
Since
the freeze-branding program provides for branding when the foal is still
with the dam, the system virtually guarantees the integrity of the
brand.
When
the system was first implemented in Australia, a single line of symbols
were used. The first symbol denotes the state of breeding; 2 = NSW, 4 =
QLD, 5 = SA, 6 = WA, 7 = TAS. The second symbol is the last digit of the
year of foaling; for example, 9 can mean 1979, '89 or '99. The remaining
four symbols are the registration number of the foal.
In
the late 1980s, Australia changed over to a two-line brand, the first
line commencing with an ‘S' for Standardbred, followed by the digit
for the state of foaling (postcode), then two digits for the year of foaling. The
second four-digit line is the horse's registration number. This two line
method is similar to that used in New Zealand, where the first line has
the two digits of the year of foaling followed by a ‘Z' for New
Zealand, the second four-digit line being the horse's registration
number.
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