How to Improve Equine Practice Profitability Without Working More Hours

If you are an equine practice owner, I want to ask you something gently, because I know how common this is.

Are you busy… but still worried?

Are you booked out, running from call to call, doing meaningful work every day, and yet somehow the profit never seems to match the effort?

Because this is one of the most frustrating realities in equine veterinary practice ownership. Many equine vets are working at full capacity, yet still feel financially stretched. They worry about cashflow.

They worry about quiet months. They worry about whether they are actually building something sustainable, or whether they are just surviving week to week.

And the default thought is always the same.

“I must need to work harder.”

See more horses. Fit in more calls. Stay out later. Push through.

But here is the truth that changes everything:

Most equine practices do not have a workload problem. They have a profitability problem.

And those are two completely different things.

The good news is that improving equine practice profitability rarely requires working more hours. It requires working differently, with clarity and structure.

Profitability Is Not About Seeing More Horses

One of the biggest mindset shifts for equine practice owners is realising that profit does not come from volume alone.

In fact, many equine vets reach a point where seeing more horses simply creates more exhaustion, more overhead, more emotional load, and more chaos… without meaningfully improving the bottom line.

You end up busier, but not freer.

Profitability comes from understanding what actually drives profit in an equine practice. It comes from pricing correctly, capturing the value of the work you are already doing, and building systems that stop money leaking out of the business unnoticed.

If you want the full foundation behind this, read our complete guide to equine veterinary practice coaching here.

The Hard Truth: Most Equine Practices Run on Thin Margins

Many equine practice owners are shocked when they discover the industry averages.

A brick-and-mortar equine practice may only run at five to ten percent profit. Even ambulatory practices often average around fifteen percent.

Think about what that means.

For all the responsibility, the physical workload, the emotional investment, the risk of emergencies, the long days on the road… many equine vets are earning margins that would make more sense in a low-skill commodity business.

That is not because equine vets are doing poor medicine.

It is because most of us were never taught how to run the business fundamentals properly.

Where Profit Is Really Lost in Equine Practice

In my experience, equine practice profitability usually improves fastest when you address a few very specific areas. These are not glamorous, but they are powerful.

The first is pricing.

Equine veterinarians are compassionate people. That is part of what makes this profession so special. But compassion can become expensive when it leads to chronic undercharging.

Many practice owners avoid raising fees because they worry about what clients will think. They discount without realising it. They hesitate to charge appropriately for the level of skill and responsibility involved.

But you cannot build a sustainable practice on guilt-based pricing.

Your fees are not just numbers. They are what allow you to pay your team properly, invest in equipment, deliver excellent care, and stay in the profession long-term.

Pricing is not greed. Pricing is sustainability.

A simple example is out-of-hours work. If you are driving out at 10pm for a colic, performing high-level medicine under pressure, and charging the same as a routine daytime visit, the business will never reflect the true cost of what you are providing.

Profitability begins with charging in a way that matches reality.

Missed Charges: The Hidden Profit Killer

One of the most common reasons equine practices stay financially tight, even when they are extremely busy, is missed charges.

This happens because equine vets are focused on the horse, not the invoice.

You are thinking clinically. You are juggling the environment. You are trying to help the client stay calm. You are already mentally moving on to the next call.

And small things get missed.

A sedation top-up. A second nerve block. A consumable. A follow-up phone call. Travel time. Out-of-hours loading. The extra half hour spent talking a worried owner through the plan.

None of these are unreasonable to charge for. In fact, they are part of the work.

But when they are missed repeatedly, the practice quietly bleeds profit.

Most practice owners do not need to see more horses to improve profitability. They simply need to capture the value of the work they are already doing.

Even a simple billing workflow or checklist at the end of each consult can make a dramatic difference within weeks.

Profit Drivers: Pulling the Right Levers

Many practice owners believe profit comes from working harder.

In reality, profit comes from pulling the right levers.

Most equine practices have a handful of critical drivers that determine whether the business thrives or struggles. These often include transaction value, pricing structure, missed charges, scheduling efficiency, client quality, and overhead control.

The mistake is thinking you need to fix everything at once.

You don’t.

You need to identify the few areas that are holding your practice back, and then implement change with focus and consistency.

That is where coaching becomes so powerful, because it stops you guessing and helps you work on what actually matters.

The 60% Benchmark

I want to share something personal, because I know that profitability can feel like an impossible goal if you have been stuck at ten percent for years.

When I applied these principles to my own equine veterinary practice, everything changed.

Over time, I was able to fine tune the business to consistently achieve over sixty percent profitability from startup.

Not for one lucky month.

For years.

Some years it even reached sixty-nine percent, but it never dropped below sixty.

That was not because I worked harder than everyone else.

It was because I learned what the top one percent understand.

Profitability is designed.

It is built through systems, pricing confidence, measurement, and focus.

And once those foundations are in place, practice ownership becomes lighter.

You Don’t Need More Hours – You Need Better Structure

If you are exhausted, stretched, and worried about money despite being busy, please hear this:

You are not failing.

You are simply running a complex business without the framework you were never taught.

Equine practice profitability is not a mystery.

It is a skill set.

And it is learnable.

Want Support Implementing This?

This is exactly why we created the Equine Practice Company Business Mastermind.

A structured 24-month programme designed specifically for small, solo, and micro equine practices, focused on improving profitability, strengthening systems, building leadership, and reclaiming work-life balance.

The next intake begins in August 2026, and places are limited.

Your practice can be better. Your life can be better. And it is entirely within your reach.

Can You Grow With Taking On More Equine Clients

Yes, it is absolutely possible to improve profitability without seeing more horses. In fact, most practices improve fastest through pricing clarity, missed-charge capture, and better systems, not increased workload.

For many equine practices, the quickest win is simply tightening billing and reviewing fees with confidence. These changes often create immediate relief.

And profitability is absolutely achievable in solo ambulatory practice. In many cases, ambulatory practices have enormous potential once pricing and workflows are refined.

If pricing and invoicing feel like a constant leak in your practice, read this next: How to Improve Equine Practice Profitability Without Working More Hours.