It is about time Australia caught up with Europe and its standard of keeping horses! Far too many horses are being neglected, mistreated or slaughtered at a young age. Although some states have an Animal Welfare Act where horses are included, these laws are not being enforced as well as they should due to the difficulties of linking an animal back to its owner.
A major reason for this is that Australia does not have a law that has made registering and microchipping horses compulsory. We need to look at the EU and the systems they have in place to ensure that our horses are treated fairly by making horse ownership an important responsibility. 
By implementing a system that allows us to regularly check on horses, we can make sure that owners are keeping their animals up to date with vaccines and therefore minimise the risk of spreading diseases in case of an outbreak. Microchipping also simplifies the process of finding your horse if it is stolen or lost and also to aid in emergencies such as natural disasters. 
It is time to realise the importance of registering all horses and to change current legislations to enforce compulsory microchipping and registration!

Horses are important and should be treated as such!