7 minute read
20 Questions with Wayne Turner
20 QUESTIONS
Wayne Turner has worked in the horse industry for the last 30 years. He’s the founding partner of Progressive Equine Services & Hoof Care Centre, and is dedicated to a modern approach to farriering.
Q: Where are you based? A: Warragul, Victoria.
Q: When did your interest in horses begin? A: I have always had an affinity for horses since growing up on a farm, but didn’t really get involved with them until Q: What did you want to be when you were growing up? A: A professional golfer.
Q: Did you participate in any horse sports? A: I did some endurance riding, but as competitive as I am personally, I’ve never pushed that onto my horses. Q: When did you become involved in farriering? A: In my early ‘30s.
Q: What other interests do you have? A: I've been very sporty all my life and competed in a few professional triathlete races. I still ride my bike and play a bit of golf, but nothing serious these days as I’m busy running Progressive Equine Services & Hoof Care Centre (PES). We also started a lot of horses under saddle for many years, which allowed me to work overseas a bit.
Q: Where have you worked overseas? A: When I was starting horses I spent time in India, UAE, the UK and Europe.
Q: When you started farriering did you shoe in the traditional way? A: Yes, but I had a great teacher who believed we didn’t have all the answers and this has kept me searching. The open heel metal shoe was developed for protection of the foot only and it does that extremely well. Originally horses were shod so armies could travel further, before the horses became foot sore. Back then, shoeing had little to do with supporting ideal foot function, or meeting the needs of the foot, and sadly not much has changed.
Q: What led to the establishment of PES? A: I saw just how many horses were suffering from poor farriery and felt there must be a better way. The direction I took was to try and gather more accurate and objective data, which is why I got licensed to own and operate x-ray equipment. It’s the best decision I ever made, and we’ve helped thousands of horses over the last eight years.
PES also works with other farriers, both in Australia and overseas. We are more than happy to take x-rays or gather data for colleagues, answer any questions, and help them as much or as little as they want in order to achieve the best result for each horse.
Q: How does PES differ to other farriering businesses? A: We use modern technologies including gait analysis and x-ray equipment, and Werkman Black, an innovative technology that gathers objective data on every facet of your horse, which allows us to determine the horse’s needs more objectively and trim and shoe them accordingly. This is a long way from most other farrier businesses, which often use subjective opinion and guesswork for much of the evaluation, trimming and shoeing process.
Q: Which country is the most advanced in farriering? A: I would say the UK sets the standard, but I don’t see any country moving in the right direction. The use of modern technologies to better evaluate a horse’s needs must be incorporated into farrier training and practices if we’re to move forwards. With a few exceptions, we’re still shoeing horses as we did several hundred years ago. Sadly, there’s still so much resistance in the industry to move into the modern era, which negatively impacts the horse, their comfort, soundness, and performance! Q: Have you written a book? A: In 2003 I authored a book on optimising breakover efficiency for a shoe idea we developed.
Q: In your opinion, what’s in the best hoof dressing? A: I don’t advocate for most hoof dressings. Good nutrition, stimulation, loading, movement, and hoof care are what’s best for horses' hooves. I think walking them into water over their fetlocks every day or two is a great idea through the drier months.
Q: Are there some breeds or types you don’t or won’t shoe? A: I’ll happily work with any horse that will stand quietly to be shod. Breed and discipline are irrelevant, but my safety is paramount.
Q: Do you shoe elite competition horses? A: We shoe top level horses from most disciplines, yes. But we also shoe many Pony Club, riding club and trail riding horses too. To us, each horse is of equal value, from Olympic through to Pony Club horses.
Q: Do other farriers contact you for advice? A: It’s amazing how many farriers contact us from all around the world. Many did not like what we had to say several years ago in relation to open heel shoes, caudal failure and trimming styles. But they’ve seen our results over many years, and we’re still saying the same things. It’s great when they send photos or messages showing the changes they’re making by following our work and shoeing style.
Q: You have an extensive online following. A: We have almost 40,000 followers on our PES Facebook page, and we post most days, often with our thoughts on various aspects of farriery. We show a lot of before and after photos on hoof corrections, we also show x-rays and data reports from the equipment we use, so our followers can better understand the internal and external foot. My goal for my social media page was for owner education, but we have a huge following of hoof care providers, trainers, vets and other people working in the industry from around the world.
Q: Are there many female farriers? A: Yes, there are many in this country and internationally, and many are also exceptionally good.
Q: Do you have a family? A: Just me and Wilson, the Staffordshire terrier.
Q: Do you have time for a social life? A: Sorry, I don’t understand the question!
Visit Progressive Equine Services or email info@progressiveequine.com.au for more information.
FACING PAGE LEFT: After upgrading his audiovisual equipment, Wayne is producing an educational video series on farriery. FACING PAGE RIGHT: Wayne has always had an affinity with horses. ABOVE: To ensure the best outcome for the horse, Wayne uses x-rays and other data gathering technologies. All images courtesy Wayne Turner
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