San Dieguito Equine Group

What San Dieguito Equine Group does

San Dieguito Equine Group (SDEG) is a specialized equine veterinary practice headquartered in San Marcos, California, founded in 1982 by Dr. Paul McClellan, a Purdue-trained veterinarian and FEI permitted treating veterinarian who served as the 2020 USA Dressage Olympic Team Veterinarian. The practice focuses exclusively on performance horse medicine, delivering care through three core service lines: Equine Orthopedic Services, Advanced Diagnostic Imaging, and Equine Wellness Management. Its diagnostic capability is anchored by a low-field standing MRI system — the first installed in North America — alongside nuclear scintigraphy, digital radiography, ultrasound, endoscopy, and thermography. The team of 20+ includes approximately eight veterinarians, registered veterinary technicians, and administrative staff, with several FEI-credentialed specialists and partners Dr. Michael Manno (Senior Partner) and Dr. Rebecca James (Partner).

The business model is professional services billing, generating revenue through veterinary consultations, diagnostic imaging procedures, surgery, and therapeutic treatments (including shockwave, IRAP, PRP, and stem cell therapy). Services are delivered via two channels: ambulatory on-farm visits across North County San Diego and a state-of-the-art diagnostic clinic at 1288 Calle Maria where horses are brought for advanced imaging, surgery, and layup. A structured rDVM (referring veterinarian) channel routes additional case volume from surrounding equine practices. Customer segments center on owners of sport and performance horses, particularly in dressage, polo, and show horse disciplines.

The practice is privately held, founder-led with partnership equity distributed among senior veterinarians, and shows no evidence of external institutional investment, private equity involvement, or multi-site expansion. Distribution is concentrated in a single affluent Southern California geography, and the company is not pursuing technology-platform or software-driven monetization. The business represents a long-established, specialist professional services firm in the niche equine orthopedic and sports medicine segment.

Name

San Dieguito Equine Group

Legal name

San Dieguito Equine Group, Inc.

Website

https://sdequine.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

San Dieguito Equine Group is a specialized equine veterinary practice in San Marcos, California, providing orthopedic care, advanced diagnostic imaging (including the first standing MRI in North America), and wellness management for performance horses in North County San Diego.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Equine Veterinary Services

NAICS

Veterinary Services (54194)

SIC

Services-Offices & Clinics Of Doctors Of Medicine (8011)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Medicine, Lameness & Performance (Equine) (HLAMABAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Equine Hospital & Surgical Services (HLAMABAF), Large Animal & Equine Emergency/Critical Care & Referral (HLAMABAI), Field Services, Mobile Imaging & On-Farm Procedures (HLAMABAK), Equine Rehabilitation, Layup & Retirement Facilities (AFAEAGAJ)

Keywords

• Equine veterinary services
• Equine diagnostic imaging
• Equine orthopedic care
• Veterinary practice services
• Equine wellness management

Headquarters

HQ city

San Marcos

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: Comprehensive equine veterinary medicine and surgery services including orthopedic evaluation, diagnostic imaging, wellness management, and emergency services. Revenue generated through professional veterinary consultations, procedures, and treatments at clinic and ambulatory settings.
2. Diagnostic Imaging Services: Advanced imaging services including MRI, nuclear scintigraphy, digital radiography, ultrasound, endoscopy. Services provided at the clinic facility with specialized equipment and radiologist interpretation.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

San Dieguito Equine Group provides specialized equine veterinary medicine and surgery focused on performance horses, offering orthopedic evaluation, pre-purchase examinations, orthopedic surgery, and layup services. The practice operates a state-of-the-art diagnostic facility in San Marcos, CA, with advanced imaging (standing MRI, nuclear scintigraphy, digital radiography, ultrasound, endoscopy, gastroscopy, thermography) and provides both ambulatory on-farm services and in-clinic care, including regenerative therapies (IRAP, PRP, stem cell), shockwave, acupuncture, chiropractic, ophthalmology, and performance dentistry.

Product overview

San Dieguito Equine Group operates as a specialized equine veterinary practice offering three core service lines: Equine Orthopedic Services, Advanced Diagnostic Imaging, and Equine Wellness Management. The practice provides both ambulatory (on-farm) veterinary services and operates a state-of-the-art diagnostic facility in San Marcos, CA. Services range from routine wellness care and dentistry to advanced regenerative therapies (IRAP, PRP, stem cell therapy) and sophisticated diagnostic imaging (standing MRI, nuclear scintigraphy). The practice serves performance horses with orthopedic evaluation, surgery, rehabilitation, and complementary therapies including acupuncture and chiropractic care.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Equine Orthopedic Services Comprehensive orthopedic evaluation, pre-purchase examinations, orthopedic surgery, and post-op hospitalization and layup services for performance horses, delivered by equine sports medicine specialists at the San Marcos clinic and on-farm.
• Advanced Diagnostic Imaging
• Equine Wellness Management
• Therapeutic and Regenerative Treatments
• 24/7 Emergency Equine Veterinary Service
• Online Veterinary Store

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Dr. Norm Rantanen (Radiologist)coreTechnology or IntegrationRenowned radiologist collaborator who encouraged Dr. McClellan to author papers on diagnostic ultrasound in the early 1980s. Long-standing collaboration spanning over a decade.
• Dr. Charles AllenminorOthersMentor to Dr. McClellan throughout his career in performance horse medicine.
• Dr. Danny MarksminorOthersMentor to Dr. McClellan throughout his career in performance horse medicine.
• Board-Certified Radiologists and SurgeonscoreTechnology or IntegrationSDEG clinicians collaborate with board-certified radiologists and surgeons to provide the highest level of orthopedic care possible.
• Helen Woodward Animal HospitalminorOthersJennifer McKinney worked at Helen Woodward Animal Hospital in the equine department for 13 years before joining SDEG in 2001. Vera Kouprina previously worked at Helen Woodward Equine Hospital.
• Local and Referring VeterinarianscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSDEG frequently works with other local and referring veterinarians in their diagnostic facility on a referral basis, providing advanced imaging services (MRI & Nuclear Scintigraphy) and second opinions.
• Consulting and Referral Veterinarians (Radiologists, Internists, Surgeons, Ophthalmologists)coreTechnology or IntegrationSan Dieguito Equine Group proudly collaborates with a variety of consulting and referral veterinarians including radiologists, internists, surgeons, and ophthalmologists for comprehensive patient care.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Steinbeck Peninsula Equine Clinics: Multi-location equine practice on the California Central Coast providing ambulatory, surgical, and imaging services to performance and pleasure horses. Comparable in structure (multi-vet, mixed ambulatory/clinic model for performance-horse owners).
• Helen Woodward Animal Center (Equine Department): Multi-species animal hospital in Rancho Santa Fe, CA with a longstanding equine department. Several SDEG team members previously worked there, indicating direct overlap in performance-horse clientele and service mix in the North County San Diego market.
• Hagyard Equine Medical Institute: Lexington, KY-based equine referral hospital with deep sport-horse and Thoroughbred practice. Closely comparable in combining imaging, surgery, sports medicine, and ambulatory service to performance/discipline horses (dressage, show, polo cross-over).
• San Luis Rey Equine Hospital: Specialty equine hospital located in Bonsall, CA — same Southern California performance-horse geography. Offers orthopedic, surgical, and advanced imaging services and is the closest direct competitor serving elite San Diego/SoCal sport-horse clients.
• Pioneer Equine Hospital: Equine referral hospital in Northern California where SDEG veterinarian Dr. Puzey completed her rotating internship. Comparable in offering surgery, imaging, sports medicine and ambulatory services to the California performance-horse population.
• Equine Medical Center (Virginia Tech Marion duPont Scott): Academic tertiary equine referral hospital on the US East Coast with full specialty services including advanced imaging, orthopedic surgery, and sports medicine. Comparable in capability set and referral-tier positioning to SDEG.
• West Coast Equine Hospital: Equine specialty hospital based in Southern California offering surgery, internal medicine, and reproduction services. Direct regional competitor for performance-horse referral and ambulatory work.
• SoCal Equine Hospital: Southern California equine specialty practice where SDEG veterinarian Dr. Bernas previously worked. Overlapping regional footprint with comparable emergency, internal medicine, and orthopedic service offerings.
• Atlantic Equine Services: Sports-medicine focused equine practice based in New England and Wellington, FL — home of major US winter show circuits. SDEG's Dr. Puzey trained there. Mirrors SDEG's performance-sports focus but operates in the eastern US circuit.
• Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital: One of the largest equine specialty referral hospitals in North America (Lexington, KY). Comparable in combining orthopedic surgery, advanced imaging (MRI, nuclear scintigraphy), and ambulatory services for performance horses — the gold-standard comparator for an equine specialty practice.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/sandieguitoequinegroup
• Instagraminstagram.com/sandieguitoequinegroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/san-dieguito-equine-group

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 Dieguito Equine Group