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| The hosted surveillance service used AXIS M1031W network cameras to monitor the in-foal mares 24x7 |
International show jumper, Andrew Mizon put two of his horses in foal to Dollar du Maurier and chose to use an innovative online surveillance system to monitor the mares' progress. Once the births became imminent, Andrew was able to view live footage, on his mobile or using the Internet, of the horses which are stabled at Blackburn-based Northcote Equestrian Centre.
Andrew said: "There's a period of about 10 days when the mares could foal and added to that they only give birth at night so we would have had to put together a rota to check on them so that we are on hand if they need any help during the birth. This means having to pay for a groom to stay at the yard which can become costly."
The Mizon's already had experience of using a hosted network video service from IPEye which had proved to be a very effective way of monitoring one of Andrew's top horses when it suffered a collateral ligament rupture while jumping the Hickstead Derby in 2009.
The surveillance system cost a fraction of the cost of paying for a groom to stay with the mares |
Andrew said: "Being able to monitor my injured horse at any time of the day and night using the Internet or my mobile phone gave me great peace of mind - especially as I travel a lot to competitions so can't always see first hand how the horses are. Gerry was not allowed to lie down for several weeks following surgery and the camera allowed us to observe him whilst he was recuperating. This gave us the idea that we could apply the same technology to monitoring the two mares to make life easier for me and my family as well as the grooms."
To set up the surveillance service, Andrew needed to buy an easy to install AXIS M1031W network camera which is a one off cost of £257.00 and the service from iP eye costs only £6.99 per month - a fraction of the cost of paying for a groom to stay with the mares.
Scott Earing, Managing Director at iP eye said: "The service we offer is extremely secure so only the users that Andrew wants to have access to the system can view the footage. It meant that Andrew and his team could see exactly the moment the mares started to foal and could get to the yard when they were needed rather than wasting time hanging about unnecessarily."
The backbone of this service is based on the Axis Video Hosting System platform and iP eye's software and user interface means that customers are able to monitor their premises whenever they want. The type of service provided includes:
- Viewing footage online at any time either using the Internet or a mobile phone with a user-friendly web interface
- Setting up triggers such as when the burglar alarm goes off, or when someone walks past a passive infra red sensor (PIR), or the camera detects motion so could be used to monitor use of arenas or other facilities on the yard
- Triggers can be set up to send notifications via email or text
- Footage can be sent using either AVI or MP4 depending on bandwidth restrictions or the quality of image that is required
Phil Doyle, Regional Director, northern Europe, Axis Communications said: "Video surveillance as a service is a cost-effective way to monitor our valuables, whether it is a top class horse or the family jewels at home. The AXIS M1031W camera is so easy to install that it can moved to wherever it is needed as requirements change."
To view footage of the mares and foals, visit YouTube. For more information about Axis' range of network video cameras and applications, please visit their website. Follow Axis on Twitter.
