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

Digestion From Start To Finish

Although it is not necessary for you to become bogged down in the intricacies of equine digestive physiology, a basic understanding of how the horse digests feed is necessary for the selection of appropriate diets and feeding practices.

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Insects and Parasites: Fighting Fall Foes

However, some horse-troubling insects and parasites become more active during late summer and fall. Unchecked, they can be an annoyance, stress a horse’s energy reserves during the winter months, or cause illness or death. It is up to you to protect

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Is He Really Lame?

You want your horse to be sound and stay sound. But calling the vet out for a thorough workup every time your horse stumbles or acts stiff can get costly, and waste your veterinarian’s valuable time–especially if those problems turn out to be

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Cross-Training For Horses

To add variety to conditioning programs, human athletes often undertake exercise sessions that are not specific to their athletic disciplines. For example, long-distance runners might cycle on a stationary bike once or twice a week, swim, or

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Welfare, Farrier Groups Advise Caution on Do-It-Yourself Hoofcare

The International League for the Protection of Horses (ILPH) has issued a statement cautioning enthusiastic horse owners not to tackle their own hoof care work in pursuit of a natural unshod hoof. Reacting to the groundswell of popular interes”P>The International League for the Protection of Horses (ILPH) has i

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British Study Looks At Training and Injury

Racehorse owners might one day be able to handicap a horse’s risk of injury. A new study in its early stages at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) in the United Kingdom is monitoring a group of two-year-olds with the intention of using the data

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Equine Corneal Problems: Wait and See Will Not Work

A corneal ulcer (ulcerative keratitis) is the most serious eye disease that veterinarians treat. Defined as a lesion in which the outer layer and some of the middle layer of the cornea have been lost, even simple ulcers can quickly progress to

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Opening the Airways

Only racehorses get exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH), right? Aren’t they the only ones working hard enough to rupture blood vessels in their lungs? The answer to this question is not so simple. Research has shown that EIPH occurs in

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The Latest on Laminitis

Of all the ailments a horse can suffer, laminitis is the one that unfailingly strikes fear into the heart of an owner.

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“Herbal Advantage” Product Causes Positive Drug Tests

An undisclosed number of positive tests for the class 3 drugs phenylpropanoloamine and norpseudoephedrine has prompted the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) to urge trainers to scrutinize any herbal products or food supplements they feed their horses. Fifteen trainers were notified on Aug. 9 by the board, asking them to avoid a specific herbal product. The CHRB also sent memos to official

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FDA Approves First EPM Drug

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first drug to treat equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) in horses. Bayer Animal Health of Shawnee Mission, Kan., is the sponsor of the drug, ponazuril, which will have the trade name

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