Mare Stare is a streaming cam hosting site for breeders of horses. Admittedly there are a few other animals including, cats, dogs, goats, alpacas, ponies and donkeys, but horses, ponies and donkeys are in the majority. While surveillance cameras are not new in the equine business, until recently, it has only been high-end breeders that could afford them. But with the growth of the internet, more and more small farms and breeders are able to afford to put their animals on camera for others to watch.
Mare Stare started when Heather and Shannon Troglauer, owners of Mulligan’s Run Farm, purchased their first miniature horse Vicki. After the purchase it was discovered that Vicki was in foal. Heather and her daughter Shannon where both thrilled and scared to death! They weren’t new to horses, but knew nothing about birthing babies – at least of the equine persuasion. Determined to educate themselves in time, they found a few cams online where they learned a great deal about foaling and the complications that could arise.
Heather did a great deal of reading but says the live experiences were “priceless”. One of the things she learned watching other cams was about a red bag delivery. This is when the placenta separates from the uterus early in the delivery, cutting off the oxygen supply to the foal. Obviously in this situation it is imperative to deliver the foal in a timely fashion and insure the nose and lungs are clear of fluid. This lesson proved invaluable, as Vicki’s first foal was a red bag. Because of what they had 
learned watching the cams they knew what to do and safely delivered a beautiful filly named Dancer who is now a part of their breeding program.
By the time Vicki foaled Heather had become totally addicted to watching the cams and decided that next year she would do the same with her own growing herd. Being computer savvy herself and with the help of her IT friend she had her cameras up ready to go online. In the meantime, the hosting company she had planned to use decided to up their rates substantially charging both owners and viewers. The small farms could no longer afford to pay the higher fees.
She contacted her IT friend and told him she wanted to purchase her own server and put the cams on it and requested his assistance. She purchased the name Mare Stare, a common phrase used among cam owners and viewers — and in December of 2004 Mare Stare was launched.
There were 12 cams the first year. They put up a message board and soon others were asking to Mare Stare too. Word spread and more and more cams were added. Now with well over 200 cams worldwide, Mare Stare stands as the largest streaming cam hosting site for breeders of horses.
They provide peace of mind to breeders knowing that their mares will be watched giving them the opportunity to have relatively normal lives during foaling season. Not at all the norm since most breeders are sleep deprived in the first 4-8 months of the year! In addition a community of Mare Starer’s has sprung up on the message boards. Each farm is given their own “Farm Board” where they can discuss what is going on and have a great deal of fun.
Most folks are themselves horse owners, but many are just animal lovers who find the sense of shared community to their liking. Some, like me, have related businesses and joined in as an opportunity to network. In no time at all we have all found ourselves addicted to Mare Stare and made many new friends all over the world.
Mare Stare is venturing out into the world of Auctions and Special Events. Using their streaming cam technology, you can give your otherwise small to medium venue a World Wide presence. Check out their Live Events page at http://www.marestare.com/events/
Mare Stare is also entering the world of blogging. You can find the latest blog post at http://marestare.wordpress.com/ (I think she blames me???) 
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All Foal Pictures on this page used with permission by Jessi Zamboni of CheyAut Ranch. Jessi is the owner and Photographer. Upper right is Ruby and her filly, Solitaire and The other pictures are of Casi and her colt, Jackpot.
Loved the idea here of the blog and was actually quiet interesting in more to come, but I see the last post was over a year back – I am guessing it is a dead end now?