When Michael Weinstein was looking to completely redesign the website for his horse breeding program, he didn’t have to go very far, at least in terms of finding a design company. In terms of content and design, he went very far indeed.

Michael decided to challenge the company — Turkois Design — that had designed and managed his mental health company’s website, Psynergy Programs, Inc. Could they design an equine website?

People in the Arabian horse industry are familiar with Psynergy Enterprise Developments, but it didn’t necessarily target “horses.” Michael decided to re-brand the horse website as Psynergy Equine and take the opportunity to completely redesign the site.

Michael said, “Most horse owners use companies that specialize in horse websites. While they look quite nice, I wanted a fresh perspective from designers that just want to design a dynamic site that had the artistic as well as the technical capabilities. I knew it would be more costly but wanted to invest in making a site that was more interactive globally and more aligned with a business model.

“We are offering translations of the information on the website in Mandarin and Arabic so people in those countries can be more interactive with the site. Psynergy Equine will also be more interactive on global social media platforms.”

Lauren Vicenzi of Turkois Design remarked, “After designing Psynergy.org, we were excited by the challenge of diving into a completely different domain. The mental healthcare site had a very different tone and user base than Psynergy Equine, so translating the brand to a new audience while keeping it cohesive was a creative opportunity. We brought a strong UX (user experience) focus to ensure usability across devices and leaned into visual storytelling through clean design and imagery. Our experience in translating complex or niche subject matter for broader audiences was invaluable here.”

Visitors to Psynergy Equine will find a wealth of information on the program and the horses in a very visually engaging way. One of the unique features of the site is the “photo pedigree” of each horse going back four generations. As a breeder for almost fifty years, Michael understands that you must know where you came from before you can decide where you are going. As a designer, Lauren understood the importance to visitors to the site. “When we began designing the horse pages, we asked: what's the most important information for visitors?

Beyond the gallery and intro, the pedigree stood out as a key feature. Presenting it visually—as an interactive family tree—not only adds depth and interest to the page but also honors the legacy behind each horse and helps users better understand their lineage.”

In addition to the photo pedigrees, horses have photo galleries and videos when available. Helpfully, horses are linked across the site such as “notable offspring” for each of Psynergy’s main stallions, El Nabila B and the late Atticus ENB. This makes it easy to access progress across generations of offspring of these stallions without a lot of net searches.

Each mare’s page has their progeny record listed, as well as notable show results for both the mare (if shown) and her progeny. Each page is an encyclopedia for the serious breeder. Each foal for the current year and the foals expected for the coming year also have their own pages so that one can gain insight into the thought processes of the breeding decisions being made by Psynergy.

The website has been up for a few months and continues to be a work in progress as information is continually updated. While the background, horses and historical information are all complete, the media/news section will be undergoing some changes.

I asked Lauren what she feels are important things for people to consider when designing a website. “Some key design considerations include understanding the audience and their needs, prioritizing clear navigation and a mobile-friendly experience, and striking the right balance between brand storytelling and practical functionality. A bad user experience is obvious—it's confusing and frustrating. A good one feels effortless - you barely notice it. Visitors should ‘get’ the brand from the moment you arrive.”

Would Turkois consider designing more equine sites? “Absolutely!” replied Lauren. “Psynergy Equine gave us a solid blueprint into the equine world. We’d love the opportunity to continue designing and developing solutions in this exciting sector. In today’s digital age, your website is often the first point of contact between your business and potential customers. Our comprehensive website design and development services ensure that this first impression is a lasting one.”

Check out the Psynergy Equine website at psynergyequine.com

Turkois Design can be found at Turkois.io