Eating dandelions?

[Em 1]

My horse has started to search out and stuff himself full of dandelion leaves. Does anyone know if this indicates a particular deficiency? Should I be feeding supplements or is he successfully 'self-medicating'?:)

[Tre]

i dont know really, all i know is all our horses love to eat them and always have, weve never had a problem through them eating them and some are a ripe old age :)

[puzzles]

They're really healthy and most horses choose them in aromatherpy.
Dandelions are good general health (primarily blood and immune) boosters containing lots of iron and other minerals. They are also good for digestion.
By all means encourage it, horses have an excellent sense of what is and what isn't good for them!

x

[Em 1]

Thank you Tre and Puzzles, you've made me feel much better:) He's always loved dandelions and I've never stopped him but my instructor commented that seeking behaviours can suggest some sort of deficiency. I couldn't find anything obvious in any of my horsey manuals so I turned to trusty NR:D I can now leave him to munch to his heart's content:D

[Chip]

Horses generally love them and they can actually be beneficial. They act as a diuretic (makes them pee!):cool:

[kturner]

All mine have loved dandelions.

One horse I knew used to munch the top of thistles. It made me cringe, all those spikes on it, but it never used to hurt him. I have only known one horse that is silly enough to do that though.

Dandelions are a diaretic too.

[xloopylozzax]

ours love dandelions.

i remember when i was little been sent down the lane with a bucket picking dandelions (flowers and leaves) for our old horse primarily then the rest got some anyway.
not sure why but they always look well.

[Razzledazzle]

I was advised by the vet to feed dandelions to a pony of mine that had severe laminitis...I had to find at least half a dozen nice big ones ,including flowers for her every day..sorry but I can't actually remember what the reasoning was, maybe circulation or as someone else mentioned blood..:confused:

[touchstone]

Hmmm, I've been told that dandelions are very high in sugar and so quite dangerous for laminitics - they seek them out because they are so sweet!

I know that in small doses they are supposed to be beneficial, but I'd be concerned if loads were consumed.

[Razzledazzle]

Hmmm, I've been told that dandelions are very high in sugar and so quite dangerous for laminitics - they seek them out because they are so sweet!

I know that in small doses they are supposed to be beneficial, but I'd be concerned if loads were consumed.

Think you may have been mis-informed.. and I hardly think half a dozen would constitute..loads..:rolleyes:

They certainly had no ill effect on the pony ...who made an excellent recovery and has not suffered another bout of laminitis in 6 yrs.

[touchstone]

But I didn't say that your pony consumed loads, I said I would be concerned if loads were consumed :rolleyes:

Especially as OP has said her horse has "started to search out and stuff himself full"

As in anything, moderation is the key!

It was a well respected nutritionist who told me that, so I don't think I was misinformed ;)