Stephanie Ruff

Stephanie Ruff has spent her entire career in various facets of the equine industry. She was a freelance writer for many years, was the owner/editor of Arabian Finish Line, managing editor of Arabian Horse Life and content manager of Practical Horseman and Dressage Today before moving to The Horse. She has ridden many different disciplines, but for the last 20 years has focused on dressage. Stephanie has both a B.S. and M.S. in Animal Science from the University of Kentucky and has always had a keen interest in equine health, science, and research. A native of Pennsylvania, Stephanie enjoys hanging out with her Arabian and Half-Arabian mares, two German Shorthair Pointers, traveling and embracing the Florida lifestyle where she currently lives.

Articles by: Stephanie Ruff

The Equine Immune System

Vaccines are designed based on the specific nature of an antibody response to an antigen. In other words, the antibody will work only against the antigen that stimulated its production. A “booster” creates more antibodies, a quicker response, an

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Vet’s Role in Purchase Exams

 The purchase examination can be one of the most confusing aspects of buying a horse. It might take weeks, or even months, of searching to find the most suitable horse. Then your efforts are held under the discretion of the examining

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Skin Problems and Climate

We recently shipped a horse to Montana. His coat is taking a beating with the cold, dry air. How can we help him?

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Equine Lymphoma Cancer

Is equine lymphoma cancer hereditary? I had to euthanize my 5-year-old Quarter Horse recently because he had this.

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Narrow Doorway Aversion

 My mare has a particular problem with doorways, like stall doorways, small barn doorways, and even to some extent with the round pen gate. Big, wide doors are no problem, but with anything about four feet wide or smaller she will

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Foal Urination and Defecation

The first urination in foals typically occurs within the first six hours for females and the first twelve hours for males. Like defecation, the first urination in foals very often occurs soon after the first nursing.

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Protecting Equine Investment

Equine insurance is not necessarily about how much the horse is worth, but how much the owner can afford to lose. Many horse owners in Kentucky, Ohio, and other states last year were struck by an unexpected, widespread loss of foals. Related

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High-Tech Horse Purchases

The Internet has become an everyday tool for horse owners. Not only does it allow easy and immediate communication with friends and business associates around the world, it opens the doors to purchasing just about anything we need for our horses

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Fescue Field Management

It is estimated that 35 million acres of United States pasture are planted with tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea), and roughly 700,000 horses graze these fescue pastures. This plant is a cool-season plant, so it grows in cooler climates,

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Phlebotomy for Thickened Blood

Some Standardbred trotters develop a condition called red cell hypervolemia (RCHV), a thickening of the blood due to an increase in the number of red blood cells. This increase in red blood cells is a result of intense exercise programs, and is

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Stallion Behavior Immunization

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone or GnRH can be thought of as the master reproductive hormone. In stallions, GnRH is responsible for initiating a hormonal cascade that stimulates production of testosterone and other hormones necessary for breeding

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Limitations of Diagnostic Ultrasound of Bowed Tendons

Diagnostic ultrasound has become a popular means of monitoring the healing of superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) injuries, also known as bowed tendons. As image analysis software has been developed, the technique has become more widespread

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Priming Equine Energy Systems

 Last month, this column covered some of  the basics in developing a physical conditioning program (see “Getting Your Horse in Shape” in the February 2002 issue of The Horse, article Quick Find #3263 at www.TheHorse.com). The

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Horse shoe pulled partially off

Emergency Horse Shoe Removal

Everyone who owns a shod horse will have that horse lose a shoe at some point, but do you know what to do if that shoe doesn’t come off all the way?

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Competition Medication

I don’t know of any horse owner who doesn’t give medication to his or her horse. However, for those who compete with a horse, the medication issue has been front and center for the last few years, and it’s a hot topic again. There is legal

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Scientists Sequence Genome

According to Reuters Health news, Japanese scientists recently announced that they have sequenced the genome of Clostridium perfringens. The anaerobic (active in the absence of oxygen) pathogen is widely recognized as being a causal

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