From Setback to Strength:
How One Champion Racehorse Defied the Odds with Australian Hemp Nutrition - A True Story That Will Inspire Every Horse Owner
18 November 2025
by Arthur Wajs | HEMPPET ®
The day after I attended an amazing event in Melbourne on Canine Health, I received a text message from an Equine Therapist, who has been trying our HEMPPET® range of supplements for horses in her therapies. Her feedback is exactly the reason WHY we started HEMPPET® and what continues to drive our passion for animal health!
Picture the scene... Patrick Tomkinson part owner/trainer was out jogging the Pacer getting ready for fast work mid morning in Harkness. When the unimaginable accident occurred. Patrick was kicked out of the cart leaving Solo with the cart in between his legs running down the track slicing his legs open more at every stride.
Even for Naomi Maynard, one of Australia’s most respected equine therapists and founder of Namalie Natural Equine Therapies, the outlook felt grim.
Naomi has more than 30 years of hands-on experience rehabilitating performance horses. She’s FEI recognised as a Permitted Equine Therapist with many elite clients. She is also the Equine Assisted Learning Manager for the KIDS Foundation where mini horses and ponies are taken in to Kindergartens, Schools and Aged Care Homes to help Children learn how to safely approach and care for horses, while also discovering how animals can support our emotional health. Horses are incredibly sensitive to feelings and cues, helping children understand empathy, kindness, and emotional awareness.
“We were unsure if he would be able to make it back to racing…” Yet four weeks later, Naomi sent me photos that made my jaw drop.
Rapid, clean granulation. Almost no proud flesh. Skin knitting together beautifully. And a coat so glossy and healthy he looked ready for the mounting yard.
Her secret, layered on top of her veterinarian’s wound protocol and world-class bodywork? Just two 100 % Australian, cold-pressed Hemp Pet products:
Raw Hemp Seed Oil for Horses - fed daily
Hemp Horse Shampoo with Hemp Seed Oil - used at every wash
“He has been here for a month and we have had him on the RAW Hemp Oil daily and also washed him in the Hemp Shampoo regularly… the result to today is quite amazing 🤩. PS I need to order more ❤️”
— Naomi Maynard, Namalie Natural Equine Therapies, Exford VIC
(Viewer discretion: the “before” images are confronting – but the “after” shots of this proud gelding standing tall with gleaming skin and coat? Absolute magic.)
Solo is now firmly on the road to recovery. While he is not yet back in training, the speed and quality of healing in these extensive, deep wounds that would normally take many months (and often leave significant proud flesh and scarring) has been nothing short of remarkable. The progress to date is so encouraging that a return to the track is now realistically possible… and even if he ultimately enjoys a well-earned retirement, the fact he has healed this cleanly and quickly is a testament to what optimal nutrition can achieve.
The Science That Explains This Kind of Turnaround
Most modern equine diets remain critically deficient in balanced essential fatty acids - especially the rare gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), which appears in meaningful quantities in only a handful of oils, with hemp seed oil being one of the very best sources.
Australian cold-pressed hemp seed oil delivers a near-perfect 3:1 omega-6:omega-3 ratio plus meaningful levels of both GLA and stearidonic acid (SDA). These convert efficiently in the body to anti-inflammatory compounds, help normalise prostaglandin pathways, strengthen the skin barrier, improve moisture retention, and support healthy resolution of inflammation.¹⁻³
When you feed hemp internally and apply it topically, the synergy is remarkable: faster epithelialisation, minimal proud flesh, dramatically improved coat quality, and that coveted “bloom” every owner wants.
A 2023 Virginia Tech study (n=6 exercising Thoroughbreds) confirmed exactly what Naomi observed in practice:
- After just 28–35 days of hempseed oil supplementation, concentrations of anti-inflammatory fatty acids GLA and DGLA increased significantly in plasma, red blood cells, synovial fluid, and (to a lesser extent) skeletal muscle.⁴⁻⁵
- These changes have the potential to positively influence inflammatory signalling, joint health, muscle recovery, and tissue repair - precisely the processes required for rapid wound healing and return to performance.
This is published, peer-reviewed science - not marketing hype.
The exact products Naomi trusts for her own horses:
100 % Australian Cold-Pressed Hemp Seed Oil - zero heat, maximum bioactives retained
Rehabilitation & performance feed rate: 30–60 ml daily (500 kg horse)
→ Shop now: https://hemppet.au/products/raw-hemp-oil-500ml-for-horses
Gentle, soap-free, pH-balanced, Hemp Shampoo for Horses - deposits healing hemp oil directly into skin while cleaning.
Perfect for frequent wound washing or everyday show-ring shine.
→ Shop now: https://hemppet.au/products/hemp-shampoo-for-horses-500ml
When Experience Meets Evidence
Naomi Maynard didn’t choose HEMPPET® because of some clever advertising. She chose it because she has rehabilitated hundreds of horses, knows what actually works, and trusts genuine Australian-grown, cold-pressed quality when she sees it.
Today Solo continues to make outstanding progress, his muscle tone returning, his coat gleaming, and every indication that he could yet step back into the winner’s circle.
When one of Australia’s top therapists stakes her own horse’s future on HEMPPET®
hemp seed oil nutrition, that is the strongest endorsement any veterinarian or owner could ask for.
Every horse deserves the chance to defy the odds and step back into the winner’s circle.
With huge admiration for Naomi and her champion!
Arthur Wajs
HEMPPET®
References:
¹ Callaway JC. Hempseed as a nutritional resource: an overview. Euphytica. 2004;140:65–72. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10681-004-4811-6 (confirms ~3:1 ratio, presence of GLA & SDA in hemp seed oil)
² Da Porto C, Natolino A, Decorti D. Potential oil yield, fatty acid composition, and oxidation stability of the hempseed oil from four Cannabis sativa L. cultivars. J Dietary Suppl. 2015;12(4):321–329. Full article: Potential Oil Yield, Fatty Acid Composition, and Oxidation Stability of the Hempseed Oil from Four Cannabis sativa L. Cultivars (GLA content and favourable ratios)
³ Sergeant S, Rahbar E, Chilton FH. Gamma-linolenic acid, dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid, eicosanoids and inflammatory processes. Eur J Pharmacol. 2016;785:77–86. Gamma-linolenic acid, Dihommo-gamma linolenic, Eicosanoids and Inflammatory Processes - PubMed(standard review of GLA → DGLA → anti-inflammatory pathway)
⁴ Vaughn ES, McCorkle AM, Lowder SK, Philipp D, Hess TM, Dahlgren LA. Hemp seed oil as a novel fatty acid supplement for horses. J Equine Vet Sci. 2023;124:104355. 53 Hemp seed oil as a novel fatty acid supplement for horses - ScienceDirect(conference abstract – 28-day synovial fluid & muscle results)
⁵ Vaughn ES. Hempseed oil as a novel source of polyunsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants for horses. Master’s thesis, Virginia Tech, 2023.Hempseed oil as a novel source of polyunsaturated fatty acids and its effect on inflammation in sedentary horsesfull 35-day study confirming plasma, RBC, synovial fluid and muscle incorporation of GLA/DGLA)
Statements refer to nutritional support for normal healthy skin, coat, and recovery processes. Always consult your veterinarian for diagnosed conditions.