Why should you consider investing in CCTV?

As the evenings draw in and the short days of winter get ever closer, many horse owners will spend less time at the yard. The opportunities for long evening rides are gone until late spring and not many people want to hang around in the cold and rain. If yards are empty of people, who’s keeping an eye on horses and equipment? Closed circuit television (CCTV) could be just the answer!

Black Nova Designs, a Wiltshire-based IT company, works with equestrian centres, livery yards and studs to help them choose the right CCTV systems for their premises. Here, they take a look at the reasons why horse-focused businesses choose to invest in a system.

As previously mentioned, security is one of the most common reasons why yard owners explore CCTV systems. It helps deter thieves, reassures livery owners and keeps insurers happy too. Tack, trailers and of course horses themselves are all valuable assets, and CCTV allows you to keep an eye on premises from the comfort of your home. If you’re installing CCTV for security, then set your budget and choose the best quality cameras you can. The more you pay, the higher spec system you will get, with features such as night vision and zoom (both essential for catching licence plates and faces in the dark) and robust ‘yard proof’ cameras.

CCTV is also used extensively in studs, where night vision cameras are used to provide a sophisticated answer to traditional foaling watch. They can pick out the slightest change in behavior of mares on the unit from a stud manager or groom’s home, so staff can intervene when needed. Big breeding centres also use cameras to keep an eye on quarantine areas, meaning grooms can keep interaction with new horses (who could be carrying infectious diseases) to a minimum. Wired cameras are better than wireless as they are more reliable and of course for yards, we recommend high quality outdoor grade cabling.

Finally, CCTV is becoming more popular with high-end livery yards to give owners a way to log in and see their horse when they aren’t there! This type of system requires lots of cameras and some good software to back it up, allowing each person to log in and see their horse’s stable and the yard around it. This could be a little intrusive for the staff and any owners who aren’t fussed about having CCTV, but it’s certainly something to consider!

If you would like to chat to the Black Nova Designs team about a CCTV installation at your yard, please call them on 01793 210045 or email [email protected].