San Luis Rey Equine Hospital

What San Luis Rey Equine Hospital does

San Luis Rey Equine Hospital (SLREH) is a referral-based specialty equine hospital founded in 1971 by Doctors Jay and Ethel Rose and located in Bonsall, California. The hospital operates 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, providing emergency and critical care, surgery (including arthroscopy, laparoscopy, laser surgery, orthopedic repair, and the pioneered Seattle Slew basket cervical fusion), internal medicine, sports medicine, diagnostic imaging (CT, nuclear scintigraphy, digital radiography, ultrasonography, endoscopy), regenerative medicine, ophthalmology, and neonatal critical care. SLREH is one of only two clinics in North America that perform standing CT scans of the equine skull and full equine neck CT scans, using a Samsung BodyTom portable unit, and it operates the first mobile air-pressurized equine hyperbaric chamber in the world (MEHOT, relocated onsite in 2017).

The hospital serves performance and companion horse owners across multiple disciplines—racehorses, eventing, endurance, dressage, hunter/jumpers, gaited horses, rodeo competitors, and polo—plus individual companion horses, and works with referring veterinarians nationwide on complex cases. Revenue is generated predominantly through fee-for-service professional services across surgery, diagnostics, internal medicine, and emergency care, with an affiliate referral stream from a Vets First Choice online pharmacy that ships prescriptions, supplements, and supplies nationwide. Ancillary revenue and clinical continuity are generated through a partnership with Trifecta Equine Athletic Center (5 miles from the hospital) for sports medicine, rehabilitation, and conditioning.

Ownership appears to remain with the clinical leadership, principally Drs. Nick Huggons (DACVS) and Korin Potenza (DACVSMR, CVA, CERP), with no PE/VC ownership identified in the data. The business is currently executing a multi-phase renovation and expansion covering ICU, isolation, a new orthopedic and imaging building, and an upgraded sports medicine complex. The hospital also runs an annual DVM internship program and supports a growing post-internship associate and fellow track, providing a continuous training and recruiting pipeline for the practice.

Name

San Luis Rey Equine Hospital

Legal name

San Luis Rey Equine Hospital

Website

https://slreh.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

San Luis Rey Equine Hospital is a 24/7 referral-based specialty equine hospital founded in 1971 in Bonsall, California, providing emergency care, advanced imaging, surgery, sports medicine, and rehabilitation to performance horse owners and referring veterinarians across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Equine Veterinary Services

NAICS

Veterinary Services (541940), Veterinary Services (54194)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Hospitals (8060)

akta.pro primary industry

Large Animal & Equine Emergency/Critical Care & Referral (HLAMABAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Equine Hospital & Surgical Services (HLAMABAF), Sports Medicine, Lameness & Performance (Equine) (HLAMABAJ)

Keywords

• Equine veterinary hospital
• Equine surgery services
• Equine diagnostic imaging
• Equine sports medicine
• Equine emergency care

Headquarters

HQ city

Bonsall

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Veterinary Medical Services: Full-service equine hospital providing advanced diagnostics, lameness evaluation, medical and surgical care. Services include emergency care, surgery, internal medicine, sports medicine, imaging, rehabilitation, and more. Revenue generated through fee-for-service model for all hospital services.
2. Online Pharmacy: Partnership with accredited online pharmacy (Vets First Choice) providing delivery of prescriptions, supplements, and supplies directly to customers' homes, barns, or horse shows. Hospital facilitates prescription requests directly to doctors for quick review.
3. Equine Rehabilitation Services: Referral to Trifecta Equine Athletic Center for sports medicine, rehabilitation, and conditioning services located 5 miles from hospital. Transport readily available.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

San Luis Rey Equine Hospital is a full-service equine veterinary hospital offering 24/7 emergency and critical care, advanced surgery (arthroscopy, laparoscopy, laser, orthopedic), internal medicine, sports medicine, diagnostic imaging (CT, nuclear scintigraphy, radiography, ultrasound, endoscopy), regenerative medicine, ophthalmology, neonatal care, and acupuncture for horses. The hospital specializes in treating performance horses across disciplines (racing, eventing, dressage, hunter/jumpers, endurance, rodeo) as well as companion horses. It also operates an online pharmacy and a satellite rehabilitation partnership with Trifecta Equine Athletic Center.

Product overview

San Luis Rey Equine Hospital is a full-service equine hospital established in 1971, offering a comprehensive range of veterinary services including Emergency & Critical Care (24/7), Surgery (soft tissue, orthopedic, laparoscopic, laser), Internal Medicine, Sport Horse Medicine, Diagnostic Imaging (CT, radiography, nuclear scintigraphy, ultrasound, endoscopy), Regenerative Medicine (stem cells, PRP, IRAP, shockwave), Ophthalmology, and Rehabilitation. The hospital integrates with Trifecta Equine Athletic Center for rehabilitation services and offers an online pharmacy through Vets First Choice. Additional services include hyperbaric oxygen therapy, neonatal critical care, and acupuncture. The hospital also runs an annual internship program for veterinary graduates.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Emergency & Critical Care Full-service 24-hour emergency and intensive care delivered 365 days per year, including adult ICU, neonatal critical care, isolation stalls, and complete diagnostic laboratory services for equine patients.
• Surgery Full range of sophisticated elective and emergency surgical services utilizing arthroscopy, laparoscopy, laser surgery, orthopedic repair, respiratory surgery, and Wobbler's surgery for equine patients.
• Internal Medicine Round-the-clock treatment and monitoring of critical care patients and neonates, with expertise in neonatal medicine, respiratory disease, neurology, metabolic issues, and abdominal disease provided by a board-certified internist consultant.
• Sport Horse Medicine Sports medicine team providing clinical evaluation of lameness, pre-purchase examinations, poor performance evaluations, acupuncture, and rehabilitation consultations for all disciplines including racehorses, eventing, endurance, dressage, hunter/jumpers, gaited horses, and rodeo competitors.
• Diagnostic Imaging State-of-the-art imaging technology including digital radiography, CT scanning, nuclear scintigraphy, ultrasonography, myelography, and endoscopy for equine diagnostics.
• Equine Rehabilitation Rehabilitation, sports medicine, and conditioning services delivered via the Trifecta Equine Athletic Center partnership, with transport readily available from the hospital to support post-operative and injury recovery.
• Regenerative Medicine Complementary treatment options including stem cells, platelet rich plasma (PRP), IRAP, and shockwave therapy to improve healing quality of equine injuries.
• Ophthalmology Emergency and elective ophthalmic care including round-the-clock treatments and advanced surgical procedures, provided by a board-certified ophthalmologist consultant.
• Online Pharmacy Online pharmacy providing delivery of prescriptions, supplements, and supplies directly to home, barn, or horse shows with auto-ship capability and free shipping, in partnership with Vets First Choice.
• Equine Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for fractures, soft tissue injuries, joint infections, wounds, respiratory disease, gastric ulcers, and post-operative colics, available to inpatients and haul-ins.

Quantifiable outcome

• Approximately 200 nuclear scintigraphy scans performed yearly
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Trifecta Equine Athletic CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocated 5 miles from the hospital, Trifecta is the only full-service, veterinarian operated equine sports medicine, rehabilitation & conditioning center of its kind in the area. Transport from the hospital to Trifecta is readily available. The partnership provides comprehensive continuum of care for equine athletes from diagnosis through rehabilitation and return to performance.
• Mobile Equine Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (MEHOT)coreTechnology or IntegrationMEHOT relocated their operations to San Luis Rey Equine Hospital. The MEHOT center is the first mobile air-pressurized equine hyperbaric chamber in the world, built to same specifications as human hyperbaric chambers at world-class facilities such as the Mayo Clinic. Available to inpatients and haul-ins for treatment of fractures, soft tissue injuries, joint infections, wounds, respiratory disease, gastric ulcers, and post-operative colics.
• Eye Clinic for AnimalsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsultants from Eye Clinic for Animals provide ophthalmology services for horse patients, including emergency and elective ophthalmic care with advanced surgical procedures.
• Dr. Robert P. Franklin, DACVIMminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoard-certified veterinary internal medicine specialist (Diplomate ACVIM) provides consultations to doctors at SLREH. Expertise in neonatal medicine, respiratory disease, neurology, metabolic issues, abdominal disease, neoplasia and difficult-to-diagnose patients.
• Dr. Sean Collins / Animal Eye Consultant of San DiegominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOphthalmology consultant providing equine eye care services. Dr. Collins founded Animal Eye Consultant of San Diego to continue seeing equine cases.
• Jason Job (Farrier)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerWorks in conjunction with doctors to determine best shoeing and hoof care options for sports medicine and lameness cases. Provides all farrier needs at the hospital with over 18 years of experience, servicing all of northern and southern San Diego county.
• Dr. Tom Wilkinson, Washington State UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerExpert consulting services for advanced ultrasound imaging of complex cases or echocardiography.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Chino Valley Equine Hospital: Ontario, CA-based equine referral hospital serving Southern California with surgery, sports medicine, and imaging. Closest geographic competitor in the SoCal market, overlapping SLREH's referral catchment area.
• Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center: New Jersey-based equine referral hospital serving the Northeast U.S. with surgery, internal medicine, sports medicine, and emergency services. Comparable specialty referral model in a different geography.
• Steinbeck Peninsula Equine Clinics: California-based equine practice group with multiple Bay Area and Central Valley locations offering referral and ambulatory services. Geographic peer in the same California market, though broader ambulatory focus rather than single-site specialty hospital.

Others

• Vets First Choice (Covetrus): Online veterinary pharmacy platform partnered with SLREH to deliver prescriptions, supplements, and supplies. Ecosystem participant and revenue-enabling partner rather than a clinical competitor.

Direct peers

• Hagyard Equine Medical Institute: One of the oldest and largest equine referral hospitals in the U.S., based in Lexington, KY. Directly comparable multi-specialty equine referral practice with surgery, internal medicine, sports medicine, imaging, and 24/7 emergency care — competing for similar national performance-horse clientele.
• Palm Beach Equine Clinic: Wellington, FL-based referral hospital serving elite show jumper, dressage, and polo clientele with surgical, sports medicine, imaging, and emergency services. Direct competitor in the high-end performance horse segment, particularly for East Coast winter circuit clients.
• Weatherford Equine Medical Center: Texas-based equine referral hospital offering internal medicine, surgery, sports medicine, and advanced imaging. Comparable full-service referral model serving performance-horse clientele across the Southwest.
• Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital: Lexington, KY-based full-service equine referral hospital offering surgery, internal medicine, reproduction, sports medicine, and advanced imaging. Closest direct competitor in scale, specialty breadth, and Thoroughbred performance-horse clientele.
• Equine Medical Center of Ocala: Florida-based equine referral hospital with surgery, internal medicine, reproduction, and emergency services — competing for the same Thoroughbred and sport horse referral market that SLREH addresses on the West Coast.

Broad incumbents

• Equine Hospital at University of Florida (UF Large Animal Hospital): Academic veterinary teaching hospital providing specialty equine referral services. Comparable diagnostic and surgical capability set, but operates within a broader university hospital mission and academic funding model rather than as an independent specialty practice.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/slreh
• Instagraminstagram.com/sanluisreyequinehospital
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/slreh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about San Luis Rey Equine Hospital