The parents of a teenage girl who died after falling off a horse say riders are being subjected to preventable deadly risks because of ineffective systems to trace the animal's history.

Key points: The lack of a national horse register means new owners have no idea of a horse's history

The lack of a national horse register means new owners have no idea of a horse's history The Horse Industry Council says there are already multiple registers in place, which result in duplications

The Horse Industry Council says there are already multiple registers in place, which result in duplications An emergency register in 2007 at the time of the equine influenza outbreak was deemed effective, but later abandoned

Public hearings for the inquiry into the feasibility of a National Horse Traceability Register for all horses will be held in Sydney today and later this month in Canberra.

Horses are among the nation's most deadly animal and advocates for the scheme say it could play a significant role in managing diseases and biosecurity, prevent rural crime, and even save a rider's life if there was adequate access to a horse's history.

The horse with no name

The drive for a National Horse Traceability Register has been spearheaded by Mark and Juliana Waugh whose daughter Sarah died in 2009 when she fell from a horse during a riding lesson at Dubbo TAFE as part of a jillaroo course.

The horse was called Dargo after he arrived at the TAFE without a name, or known history.

But Dargo did have a history, and it was one that a coronial inquest in 2011 found made the horse unsuitable for a beginner rider course.

The horse had been recently used for racing and had no rest period, or time to be retrained.

The absence of a horse register meant that vital information was not made available to the TAFE.

Sarah Waugh rides Dargo at Dubbo on the morning of the accident March 24, 2009. ( ABC News )

Two months after Sarah's death, Dargo became lost in the system again when he was advertised for sale in a well-known equine magazine and sold to a horse-riding school in NSW.

Ms Waugh told the inquest it was described as "a pretty horse with an impeccable temperament".

She said there was no mention of the horse's racing history, his time at the TAFE, or his name.

Ms Waugh argued that the absence of a national registration system meant horses were getting lost in the system with potentially fatal consequences.

"If a National Horse Identification and Traceability System [or Register] had existed in March 2009, our daughter Sarah Kate Waugh would most probably still be alive and practising as a rural vet," Ms Waugh outlined in her submission to the inquiry.

"Sarah's death was preventable and was due in part to false information being given about the history of a horse and its suitability for a specific purpose in a NSW Government workplace."

Mark and Juliana Waugh have been advocating for safety improvements in the equine sector since their daughter's death. ( ABC News: File photo )

Facing neglect and the knackery

Equine welfare advocates have also pushed for a national register to promote owner accountability and potentially deter negligent backyard breeding.

When Bianca Folber — who is part of the Australian Equine Unification Scheme — purchased a scrawny filly at an Echuca saleyard for just $120, it triggered her passion for horse owners to be made more accountable.

The horse, affectionately named Callie by her children, was underweight and unable to be transported to South Australia for two weeks until she regained her strength to survive the journey.

The auctioneer had no information on Callie to pass on to potential buyers, leaving Ms Folber in the dark about the filly's age, breed and vaccinations.

"Currently the saleyards and the knackeries are seen as easy ways for people to dispose of their horses and it's a bonus that they receive payment for doing so," Ms Folber said.

Ms Folber bought the filly for $120 at a Echuca saleyard. ( Supplied: Bianca Folber )

She said if it was mandatory that only registered horses could be sold at saleyards or submitted to knackeries, people would either register the animals or stop breeding them.

Ms Folber also called for better control over which animals ended up at slaughterhouses.

"Through my volunteer work to improve equine welfare I have seen many cases of people giving away their beloved old horses to be companions and then they discover they have actually been sold for meat," she said.

"The UK system allows for people to actually flag their horse as 'not for slaughter' and I feel Australian horse owners would benefit from a similar flag."

Untangling multiple registers

Prior to the equine influenza outbreak in 2007, the Australian Horse Industry Council developed an emergency contact database to better track horses.

Ms Waugh told the inquiry that in August 2007 there were 800 horses registered but the outbreak prompted thousands of owners to register and add their details.

However, no ongoing funding was provided for the emergency register and it became redundant.

The industry and the Commonwealth spent more than $130 million to contain the outbreak.

The on-flow to the industry ran into the millions of dollars in lost income, cancellations, and restrictions on racing and breeding activities.

An emergency database to better track horses was established prior to the equine influenza outbreak, but was disbanded through lack of funding. ( ABC News: File photo )

The Australian Horse Industry Council's president, Mark Burnell, said the register was very effective at the time of the outbreak.

He said the council welcomed the introduction of a national register for safety and biosecurity purposes, but he said there were already multiple registers horse owners had to comply with.

"There's concern from some organisations about an increased layer of compliance and cost ultimately to the horse owner," he said.

Mr Burnell used the example of his daughter's pony, which is registered across a number of organisations including pony club and interschool competitions.

"So the horse has three different names, she's got a registered Welsh name, she's got a paddock name, she's got a pony club name, and we try to do the right thing.

"Her horse is typical of what you get of many competition horses, they turn up on many registers already.

"One of the concerns is how to unfold the duplications in the system and just have one clear registration."

Support needed for successful scheme

The NSW Farmers Association has thrown its support behind a traceability scheme for biosecurity and welfare purposes.

"It's something we could put in place just to see where horses are going, where they're currently situated, what movements they make in their lifetime," the association's Alexandra Bunton said.

"It will really help us be able to track diseases that go through horse populations or are passed on to other animals."

The organisation called for government support to reduce costs for owners impacted by a traceability scheme.