Businesswomen Mary Awre and Claire Howard are putting horse theft on thin ice with their freeze mark of distinction.

Mary and Claire are experts in horse security, specialising in visibly identifying horses using a technique known as "freezemarking", which produces a white mark in the shape of letters and numbers on dark-coloured horses and is equally effective on light-coloured animals.

As the mark is visible and permanent, it will deter thieves, but if the worst does happen, it provides the best chance of tracing the missing horse as the mark can be read by anyone in and out of the equestrian world.

The pair run Freezemark, based on the Oxfordshire/Warwickshire borders, which is dedicated to fighting horse theft and providing owners with a personal service.

Customers can select their own mark or use an allocated number.