As I prepare for two very long upcoming trailer trips I wanted to be sure to install a video monitor in the horse trailer without breaking the bank or requiring electrical work in the trailer. After hours of research and several disappointing shopping trips looking at baby monitors and security systems, I was extremely excited to figure out a solution using a FREE App Called "Alfred" (this used to be called "Web of Cam") that didn't require me to purchase anything new or make any alterations to my trailer.

The other options were baby monitors and surveillance cameras that were not only expensive but would also have required me to either hard wire the camera to the trailer electric or purchase an equally expensive portable generator to power the camera portion of the system. My solution is giving life to two iPhone 4's I've had collecting dust in a drawer while also providing me the flexibility to use my Android phone as the monitor paired with one of the iPhones as the camera or even use a laptop as the monitor and a phone as the camera - and there are always affordable older model smart phones available on ebay and Craigslist. The even better part is that since this solution doesn't require a continual power source, I can also use this in the barn at home since my WiFi signal from the house reaches the barn.

How tall is my horse? We've all thought that question at some point or hypothesized about the answer. Most of us just rely on what the prior owner told us or an eyeball approximation because most people don't have enough horses to feel justified spending $40 on a fancy aluminum horse measuring stick.

Well for only $10 you can make your own dual-purpose horse measuring and jump height measuring stick with simple supplies you can purchase at your local hardware store. Here's how.