Equestrian CCTV and using CCTV to protect horses

To some extent much of the information contained in the Farm CCTV knowledge bank article will also be applicable to equestrian CCTV systems so give that a quick read as well. We thought it worth producing a bespoke article for equestrian CCTV and using CCTV to protect horses because there are some subtle differences when planning the systems.

One of the key differences between farms and stables can be the value of what's being protected, and also the way in which animals are kept. On a farm many animals are often kept together in one place, with horses individual animals tend to be kept separately. Because of this when planning a CCTV system in a stud or stables consider fitting individual cameras in each stable.

On the face of it that sounds expensive but there is some good news. Because an individual stable isn't very big it should be possible to decide exactly where the camera is being fitted and use cheaper fixed lens cameras such as our K-series, small open faced vandal dome or full vandal dome cameras.

Fitting CCTV cameras in Horse stables

Individual CCTV cameras in each stall helps deter and detect malicious attacks, allow you to monitor general well being or specific conditions such as foaling, helps avoid injury by identifying danger areas and to monitors behavioural issues when you are not there.

Each situation will be unique but in general terms try to fit the cameras in the corner of a stable, this will mean the CCTV camera films the entire space. A front corner often works well as it is to the side of the entrance into the stall and so not immediately visible from the outside but it is close to the entrance which means maximum detail is captured of someone walking in.

Fit cameras with built in infra red illumination as this will allow filming in total darkness. It is also important to make sure the cameras you fit have very sensitive electronics. Stables tend not to be particularly well lit, certainly not when compared to say an office. When cameras are fitted with I/R it can be hard to determine the sensitivity of the CCD and DSP electronics because they are sold as being able to film down to 0 lux (because of the infra red). What you actually want to know is how good is the base camera without the I/R. All our cameras are capable of filming down to 0.05 or 0.01 lux, that's 50 times better than a camera that only films down to 0.5 lux. One other thing worth mentioning is that sometimes you will see cameras that can film down to 0.001 lux (or similar). All that means is they amplify the signal (and all the electronic noise!), so treat the number with a pinch of salt.

Which areas need CCTV cameras

Aside from the actual stalls have a think about where else you have items of value. Tack rooms or storage areas are an obvious consideration. A single saddle can cost upwards of four figures these days and even the most mundane of items have a surprising replacement cost associated with them.

The other high ticket item to consider is your horsebox or trailer. Trailers in particular are very high risk items in terms of theft. They command good money on the second hand market and are always in demand. Unlike a car they don't come with a registration number or log book and no one checks the chassis number (if fitted) before purchase. A horsebox can be extremely valuable and are sometimes stolen to "ring" with the identity of another donor truck. Definitely worth fitting CCTV to protect your horsebox or trailer.

The general areas of the yard might need CCTV especially if it a shared livery yard. Remember that wide angle, general overview cameras don't film in detail as you move away from the camera. If you know who each person is then that might not be a problem, if you need to identify people then try to place one camera in your CCTV system which films an small or narrow area where people have to pass through allowing you to zoom in at that pinch point and get a detailed image of them.

For outside work our 2.8-11mm lens CCTV cameras allow you to film over 90 degrees field of view at 2.8mm and zoom in to around 25 degrees at 11mm. If distances are further then our 9-22m CCTV cameras zoom down to just over 10 degrees and our 6-60mm cameras can film extremely high levels of detail even at 50-60 metres. Feel free to call us to discuss exactly which cameras would be suitable for you particular needs.

Storing your CCTV footage in the stables

The chances are your stables might be in a remote location. This isn't a problem for CCTV, it just means you will need to store footage on site using a CCTV DVR or digital video recorder . Images are stored on hard drives for retrieval later. All our DVR recorders come plug and play, you don't need to do any installation or set up to have them recording as soon as you plug your cameras in. They are also self maintaining. There are no tapes to change, empty buttons to press when the hard drive fills up. What happens is that when the hard drive fills up it starts recording over the oldest footage on a rolling basis

In terms of length of time footage can be stored for that all depends on the quality of image and number of cameras, but our DVR recorders all feature what's called motion sensed recording as well as normal 24/7 recording. The 2 can run alongside each other and the motion triggered recordings are stored on a separate section of the hard drive meaning that even when the normal recording section fills up the motion triggered section doesn't get over written.

You don't need sensors or special cameras for the motion triggered recording function. All the work is done by the DVR monitoring the image from the camera and looking for movement changes.

Viewing your CCTV system remotely over the internet

If you are fortunate enough to have internet access in your stables (or a telephone line onto which you could put internet access), then it is possible to view your CCTV system over the internet from anywhere in the world. It is even possible to view the cameras using a smart phone such as an iphone. This has many obvious benefits.

No monthly fees or on-going costs

Other than costs to your internet provider for internet access (if you are using remote access), there are no on going costs with our CCTV systems. You buy them and you own them outright. You aren't tied into costly maintenance programmes, you mange the whole system yourself and don't need to use a third party to access footage. We provide full technical support and back up free of charge for 1 year after purchase whilst you get used to your system. All connections are industry standard so if you want to add a camera or replace a piece of equipment you won't have to change the whole system. Cameras are 12 volts so nice and safe and we supply a range of plug in power supplies so you don't need to tap into your wiring.

All camera to DVR wiring can be made using our high quality pure copper external grade Cat5 cable and it's associated fittings, all of which need nothing more than a small flat head screwdriver. See our article on Cat5 CCTV cabling

If you have any questions at all on equestrian CCTV or using CCTV to protect horses please feel free to call us without obligation. Everything on the website is available for next working day courier delivery.