I boarded for years at a facility that had security cameras in the aisles and in both indoor arenas. It allowed a little bit of additional security for private property and when weird stuff happened the barn owner and the boarder had video of it. Personally I wish there was more video coverage at that facility. It would have eliminated some of the silly drama that occurred.
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I boarded at a place with cameras in the arena and aisles. I liked it because I ride alone all the time. BO was home usually but nowhere near the barn, so at least if something went sideways it could be seen. I never cared about it because frankly I wasn’t doing anything wrong and I knew it.
However… sometime later we had a couple boarders who liked to play the blame game. Camera came in real handy when BO showed them just exactly what really happened and who was at fault. LOL.
The barn I board at has cameras in the aisles (the horses are visible in the stalls) on the grounds and in the arenas. They make it very clear from day one that there are cameras and I find it comforting that someone (BM and BO) is periodically checking them. If something happens to a horse the BM can see and do something about it (and has had to do something about it). I also often ride early in the morning by myself and its nice to know if something bad were to happen in the far arena someone would eventually me on a camera!
I once saw a facility where they had cameras in the arenas for remote viewing, plus cameras in each stall. The boarder was given access to their stall cam only, so they could monitor their horse whenever they liked. I thought that was neat. I’m sure you occasionally saw the grooms pull up their underwear or sniff their pits or something slightly embarrassing, but who really cares?
As long as the recordings are legal according to federal, state and local laws and with the BO’s knowledge and consent, I’d be ok with it.
Illicit recordings by either BO or trainers or boarders, nope, nope, nope.
We have a barn camera. It is very obvious and looks mostly down the isle, but can be turned to look into two of the stalls. We will only give boarders access to it in the event of a colicking horse. We mostly use it just to see who is here, (or on a rare occassion, someone asks me to make sure they survive their ride…) but if there is ever a theft, we can also use the footage for that. I would like a second camera for the parking lot, but it isn’t installed yet. The audio isn’t very good on it: we can hear if a horse is thrashing in its stall, but can’t hear a conversation.
I am a BO and I objected to the camera in the other post because of the clandestine nature of it.
I’d love to have barn cameras, but would absolutely post signs about it and have clients sign a waiver/agree in writing.
If there’s a sign saying there are surveillance cameras or trail cams, cool. I worked for a casino, I’m used to being somewhere that, except when I’m literally in the bathroom, I’m being watched.
Secret ones or ones boarders/anyone can access that are looking at something other than, say, down into a horse’s stall (like Foal Cams where some farms stream the mares and it’s posted that’s what happening? Not cool. Hidden cameras in the arena, paddocks, tack rooms, etc are a no. If you want to record for security reasons, do it, but post. I don’t want to decide I need to change shirts really quick in the tack room after spilling liniment on it and discover the footage on YouTube or learn the owner was watching the whole thing. And I don’t want to know how those folks who can pee in a stall when desperate would feel!
I’d like to have one at home so I can answer when my vet asks if I have any idea how the pony did whatever it is that he did this time…but I’d have to have the whole pasture covered or he’d find the one tiny blind spot.
But yeah, signs, even a guest or the farrier/vet may want to use a stall for personal reasons.
We have them for front driveway, front and back pastures and stalls. We can log in at anytime and see live view or replay any time in past 30 days.
Love them. When stalled, i was twice able to get horses that broke out of stall, or where a gate from one pasture to other was left open and horse went into other pasture (no water in that one, and wasnt sure if they knocked down fencing and got hurt, or what. Both times were at 1-3 am and i was checking on them before i went to bed.) So I was able to go put horses back where they belonged, make sure they werent injured. And then rewind stall video to see how horse removed metal stall gate.
My barn has several cameras, with a big sign saying so at the front door.
They cover the parking lot, indoor arena, the outdoor arena closest to the barn, barn aisles, and hay storage area. BO had to put them up after there were some thefts of tack and hay. I have no problem with it at all.
My barn, at home, has a restroom but I still use a stall sometimes because it is upstairs and I don’t want to climb steps. LOL
One of my clients had them and let me know so. It didn’t bother me any. It was kinda helpful as she could see that everything was going okay as she was a worrier. She also was able to direct me where to things were at, even when she wasn’t physically there. (Horse had abcess while she was out of town) it was a bit strange having her know when I was getting ready to rewrap his hoof w/o having said anything, but handy to have her direct to where she moved supplies without having to call for more info. It was also comforting for me to know if something happened while she or I was gone she could alert me to go deal with it quickly.
We have cameras at our barn. I have not told clients were they are because I don’t want them finding a way around them. They obviously are not in the restroom. We had an incident a year ago with the barn help, helping themselves while we were at Pony Finals. She stole everything from clippers, to grooming tools, to a bag of alfalfa cubes. We had no idea this had happened until weeks later my husband pulled the footage and there it was. We also have a similar system at our house. It makes me feel more secure that everything is being monitored.
A friend of mine worked at a large lesson barn, one of the managers was a real jerk I mean a real jerk. He decided he’d put up cameras and some were aimed at areas that were borderline appropriate. He gave no notice and did it purely to be punitive with the staff, not anything for animal welfare.
I gotta say, the camera came in handy today. I got to the barn and we had a loose horse, outside (how she squeezed thru that 18" wide space in the door is beyond me). Got her caught and put away, but was worried as they had mowed the grass yesterday and don’t pick up clippings. I was able to pull up the footage to see when she escaped and roughly how long she’d been outside the barn (less than 1/2 hour).
I’d be fine with it as long as it was made very clear to boarders, etc that it was there.
I’m planning on putting cameras in my training barn. I know for certain that I won’t be monitoring the footage daily. It will just be for figuring out what happened or who was there once bad stuff happens.
I couldn’t care less if a client gives extra hay, picks a wedgie or borrows my hoof pick. I have a bathroom in the barn so likely no shots of anyone peeing in a stall. (And really don’t care about that if they do) I’m really only worried about the horse killers and tack thieves that are multiplying here in Florida.
I’d need a lot of cameras to keep track of everything I’d like to be able to keep track of!
I need to set one up in one of the barns to find out where the pigeons are getting in. I feel like I have all the holes blocked up, but obviously I don’t because they keep getting back in.
I was told this week to hang cds on a string to keep birds out.
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