Do You Really Need a Camera in Your Horse’s Stall?

I know that may sound like a silly thing to some, having a camera in your horse’s stall. And in most cases, it probably isn’t really needed. However, with the way things are nowadays, it seems like a little extra security, or the ability to check up on the outside world, is not a bad thing to think about.
What got me even thinking about this is a few weeks ago, my friend Vickie texted me a picture of her horse lying down in her stall one night, and she said, “yep, she lays down to sleep!”

And then I was like, I want to see if my horses lay down to sleep! So I started thinking about getting my own camera for my barn.

Using a Camera System in a Horse Stall

Do I need one? Not really, no, it isn’t a necessity. But I showed my husband what Vickie had sent, and that got the wheels in his brain turning too.

I guess that gave him the opportunity to look for a new Ring camera for our front door. He has been wanting the Ring Doorbell system instead of the original Ring motion detector camera. So he bought the new doorbell, meaning I now had a camera for my barn!

Oh my goodness, I was so excited.

Adding a Camera System to a Horse Stall

The one thing I had to add was a wireless signal enhancer, though, because my barn is way too far away from our router. And without the wireless signal of the internet router, the camera would be useless. So I got an eero ‘dot,’ wifi router and this will expand the reach of our internet. I put that into my feed barn,

And then hung the Ring camera on the wall of Pumpaa’s stall.

I made sure to hang it high enough that even Timon couldn’t reach it in case he got curious. But I also had to make sure I could access it easily to get the battery out of it when I need to recharge it.

It took about 15 minutes to get the system completely up and running. Not very difficult at all, even for me!

How Does the Camera Work

So, of course, once it was connected, we had to try it out. And yep! I can see my ponies!

I do use it throughout the day, too, when I am at work to check in on the happenings at home.

But what I really like using it for is when I hear noises outside, or bangs and such, I can simply open the app on my phone and check in on my boys.

I could move the camera for a better outside view, but I really want it for the inside of their stalls.

I was really happy that I had it the first night I put a blanket on Timon. I wasn’t sure how he would be wearing a blanket – or if he ever had. So it was nice to be able to check in on him – from inside my home!

And I can also check and make sure they have been turned out for the day.

Sometimes my husband gets busy at home and forgets to turn them out. So if I see they are still inside, I can text him and ask him to let the horses out.

And no, I am not the kind of horse person who tells someone to do things for my horses, but when I leave for work in the dark, I don’t like having my horses turned out until it’s light. So when I am at work, my husband turns them out for me.

And with the Ring system, we have a subscription so we can download the videos, which is how I was able to get these photos.

Do You Really Need A Camera in Your Barn?

So is it really necessary to have a camera in the barn? No. Do I love having it in the barn? Absolutely!

We have been really happy with the Ring Camera system, so I am not sure how to compare it with other ones. But I like that the one in my barn is completely wireless. It only took 4 little screws to hang, and it is pretty much foolproof.

It has a microphone too so I can talk to the horses too. It’s funny when I turn the microphone on while I’m at work and call their names. To see how they react is so funny.
The camera also has night vision. So even though it is pitch black outside, I can still see the horses.

I can even turn the light on the camera too, so if I want to shed a little light on the horses at 2:00 am, I can do that too. I still haven’t caught Pumbaa lying down, but hopefully, one day, I will!

The battery life is pretty good with this system, especially because we shut off the motion detector. Otherwise, it would be going off all day long with the horses going in and out or even just moving around their stalls.

I love this thing, and it works great. So although it is not truly a necessity, I do think it is well worth having. What do you think?