Axis Communications, a provider of network cameras, announced its partner IPEye has provided international show jumper, Andrew Mizon, with a hosted surveillance service that uses Axis network cameras to monitor his in-foal mares 24/7 from anywhere in the world.
Axis Communications, a provider of network cameras, announced its partner IPEye has provided international show jumper, Andrew Mizon, with a hosted surveillance service that uses Axis network cameras to monitor his in-foal mares 24/7 from anywhere in the world.
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, Mizon was able to view live footage, on his mobile or using the Internet, of the horses which are stabled at Blackburn-based Northcote Equestrian Center.
Mizon 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.”
Mizon already had experience of using a hosted network video service from IPEye. This had proved to be an effective way of monitoring one of Mizon's top horses when it suffered a collateral ligament rupture while jumping the Hickstead Derby in 2009.
“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 I can't always see firsthand 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,” Mizon said.
To set up the surveillance service, Mizon needed to buy an easy to install Axis network camera which is a one-off cost of US$390 and the service from IPEye costs only $10 per month, a fraction of the cost of paying for a groom to stay with the mares.
Scott Earing, MD at IPEye 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 IPEye's software and user interface means that customers are able to monitor their premises whenever they want.
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 camera is so easy to install that it can moved to wherever it is needed as requirements change.”