Dandelion ( Taraxacum officinale)
Dandelion is THE herbal electrolyte!! The Dandelion herb is a very effective diuretic but is also contains an abundance of potassium, magnesium and calcium, so it helps to replace the minerals that are leached out of the body. It stimulates the liver as well as the kidneys, so is ideal to include in a detox blend. Be sure to feed only the true medicinal dandelion “Taraxacum officinale”, and not the indigenous sub-species which grows throughout Southern Africa in paddocks and along roadsides, known as False Dandelion (“Hypochaeris radicata”). The sub-species has a flat rosette of leaves which grow close to the ground, whereas the true medicinal Dandelion (“Taraxacum officinale”) has soft leaves that grow upward away from the ground, with very long and thin individual flower stems. The sub-species is toxic and can cause a stringhalt type of lameness if grazed too much. Never leave your horses in paddocks which are infested by this weed if there isn’t sufficient alternative quality grazing available in the paddock. True Dandelion is NOT associated with stringhalt and has marvelous tonic and health maintenance benefits.