im at a very nice boarding barn, been there about 3 months now, and so far (knock wood), care has been good… but my horse is older and nothing is always perfect … my fellow boarder/friend suggested a camera in my mare’s stall.
i don’t want to come across as a wack job to the owner/staff… i know people do this in foaling stalls, but not necessarily in regular stalls… what have you all done and/or would this look super weird for a boarder to do? also not sure about the wifi/data component of it
This is something to ask your barn manager. If you ask nicely you will not sound like a nutcase.
However, I think most such cameras rely on wifi or telephone data line access. You would need to research to see if there is a satellite based system that doesn’t use wifi.
Does the barn already have CCTV security? Does the barn have wifi?
I think that it is asking a lot to have a barn add boarders private cameras to their own wifi because if everyone did that they would use up all the wifi.
There are also privacy concerns. Your camera should not transmit any public areas like the barn aisle and workers should know they are being filmed
Anyhow what are your concerns and what do you hope to monitor? Are you already worried he isn’t getting fed or turned out? In that case, some surprise visits during the day are your best option. Are you planning to watch all day and see when the stall is mucked or water topped up?
If I were barn manager I would not want a boarder watching my barn help 24/7 and then getting back to me with nitpicky complaints.
Or are you worried he will colic or die overnight? If so what would your action plan be? Are you going to watch him from midnight to 5 am and drive to the barn if he looks colicky? That’s the point of mare cams. You have an action plan and vet on standby and get to the barn at 2 am. But that’s for a predicted once a year event, not just in case something happens
In other words, stall can might be less useful than you hope because they tend to go downhill at night.
And if you want to micromanage the help yeah that makes you potentially the boarder from hell and if I were BM I would not think it’s a good idea.
Your “nothing is always perfect” comment indicates some problems in her care. Would you please spell these out? It may be time to start looking for a different barn if you feel the need for a monitoring camera.
As a fellow boarder I would be … sad? It feels so good to have my phone in my back pocket for an emergency, but otherwise I tune out calls, texts, etc. It’s my mostly electronics-free place. If cameras start popping up I wouldn’t feel so free.
I have thought of having a camera in my horse’s stall. I just have never gotten it together.
As a boarder, the purpose would be to know my horse better. I don’t get a chance to see what the horse does all day, how he passes his time. I would like to see him in action, and not just hear about it verbally from someone who may not see him the way that I do. It would help plug the hole of being a boarder rather than living in the country with the horse.
There are board barns that have cameras for the convenience of the barn manager. There are more cameras everywhere these days, it isn’t weird or unusual in my opinion.
Cameras have been extremely valuable in several other areas of my life. Sticking one in the horse’s board stall would be a great idea IMO.
I would feel very uneasy if other boarders put cameras in my barn. I’d consider it an invasion of my privacy. I realize the widespread use of monitoring cameras everywhere one goes. I suppose if it were solely monitoring video-only restricted to a specific stall I might tolerate it, but if it were picking up audio from surrounding areas that would not be acceptable.
there are NO issues with her care. it’s me. im a worry wart and would like to be able to know i could open a camera and look at her for the 12 hrs a day she’s in her stall and i’m not able to be there for whatever reason - work, etc
she’s an older horse with some health issues, so yes, more eyes is always a good thing
i wouldn’t be encroaching on anyone’s privacy and i have no need for sound on the camera (although no one has an expectation of privacy in the public…). the camera would be facing away from the aisle into her stall, and her stall only.
it would be a peace of mind thing for me, again, as i am a worrier, and if i’m paying for the stall why the hell not if it’s not bothering anyone else? i asked because i didn’t know if it was an unusual request, but based off everyone’s reactions, even after i stated there are no problems in her care that are causing me to ask, apparently it is an outlandish desire. noted.
agreed. i unfortunately don’t have the luxury to be at the barn every single day, and since i know my horse best, it would be nice to check in on things if i wanted… also prevents constant nagging of barn staff (has my horse finished their dinner? have they got their alfalfa? have they pooped since they came in?)
Well, I wouldn’t be so quick to jump to that conclusion.
You have asked an audience of people who may not be using many things of that nature themselves. If you were to ask a different group, you would likely get a different answer.
I guess if you know what you want to do, you don’t really need feedback on it. A bunch of random internet strangers don’t need to be part of your decision.
Hoping you’re referring to watching overnight, or only during hours horse is kept stalled.
I’d hope most of any day is spent turned out.
Watching a horse stalled most, if not all, day would make me worry more than not seeing a daily routine that included turnout.
ETA;
Sorry, OP, posted before I saw your explanation.
Still, my horses are at home.
After I do my PM nightcheck - around 10P & my 3rd visit daily - I sleep well.
Exception if I have one NQR, but even then, I might be up & at the barn earlier than usual, but in 19yrs, I’ve yet to spend a night in the barn.
Have you broached the camera subject with any of your fellow boarders?
Frankly, I would be embarrassed by someone recording the things I talk about with my horse while I am grooming her when we are alone in the barn. And I would be disappointed if I learned that she isn’t actually talking back to me.
Yes, I read that you don’t plan on audio monitoring. Not all boarders are as ethical as you, and some I have known would love to be able to monitor all barn activities from home undetected.
I would be horrified to have audio surveillance at the barn. Sometimes when there’s just me and a friend we gossip, or we chat about our personal lives.
We put video security in our club barn but with struct rules. It’s monitored by the security company and they watch live if the overnight alarm is triggered . But you can only request video footage if there’s an actual police case and 2 board members need to review the video. We didn’t want any real time surveillance by club members or people trolling through looking for minor infractions like not sweeping up.
As a BO and a boarder, I would consider a boarder putting up cameras to be an invasion of privacy. Since when was a boarding facility “the public?” Last time I checked they are private property.
If those are seriously things you think are okay to pester a BO or worker about regularly, you need to buy some land and take care of your horse yourself. Boarding a horse requires trusting the caretaker(s). If you can’t do that, you shouldn’t be boarding.
We have someone with a camera in the stall at the place where I board. I don’t know the whole story, but evidently they had issues of some kind at the previous place.
I guess I’m confused. Do you mean you would actually ask barn staff these questions?
I get asking “does my mare normally eat all her grain?” And “what time do you typically feed?” But “did they finish?” —- like today? No that’s silly.
If your horse looks good, seems happy, is maintaining weight, etc you can sssume they are being fed on schedule. Stop by at a different time of day if you want to check.
A stall camera to essentially keep track of the barn schedule is not really “watching your horse.”
I keep my horses at home. Sometimes they get fed at 5:30. Sometimes not until 7:00. They are fine. A boarding barn usually has a schedule but it would be super annoying to have a boarder question why things did or did not happen without being on site.
(Just also going to add that if you don’t normally see your horse daily, you probably don’t actually know your horse best. Not a bad thing, but the people who feed, turnout and clean stalls probably know their routine best.)
We have a boarder who is NQR and is somewhat paranoid. He couldn’t figure out why his horse was getting injured in the stall and suspected abuse by staff or other boarders. There was a distinct racist tone to his accusations. Management allowed the camera provided it wasn’t aimed at the barn aisle.
The suspected abuse turned out to be caused by the supplements and extra hay he was giving the horse, who in the last month kicked through one stall wall and kicked down another, as well as required a yoke to be installed across her stall door so she can’t crane her neck out and bite passersby.
The camera faces the barn aisle and has listening and speaking capabilities. We have to be careful not to complain about the situation in front of the stall or he can hear us. We can also hear him tell his horse how much he loves her.
It’s creepy and I wish management would make him take it down.
FWIW the camera operates without wifi but needs an outlet.
