The international Animal Transportation Association is planning the first conference in the world on horse transport safety.
The March 18-21 conference, in Vancouver, Canada, will cover horse movement by air, land and sea.
Presenters at what will be the association's 38th annual conference, will come from India, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, Germany, and France.
"In Canada, there are no specifications for chassis or frame strength for horse trailers," said Dr Sharon Cregier, chairwoman of the Equine Committee for the assocation.
"There are no crash tests. Speakers at the conference will change the way we assess the transport environment for our horses."
Conference speaker Clint Lancaster, technical director and engineer for the National Association of Trailer Manufacturers (NATM), in Topeka, Kansas, travels the US and the world assessing members' conformity to current regulations.
"With regard to tow vehicles," he reports, "improvements will be mandated in 2013. The NATM and the Society of Automotive Engineers work together to test towing capacity claims."
The test includes handling challenges which weren't previously considered by manufacturers.
Lancaster will be speaking on safety, materials and technical considerations for horse trailers.
From Canada, Johann Sigurdson, a polo player, industrial designer, and biologist specializing in animal behavior, will discuss the necessity of safety standards.
Major Rebecca Gimenez, of Georgia in the US, will offer insights from her study of more than 800 trailer accidents.
Speakers, including New Zealand horse hauler Odessa Holmes, will discuss among other things, loading techniques, sedative use, nutrition, horse behaviour during transport, motion sickness and the use of pheromones to calm horses.
The association says the conference is open to horsemen of all levels of interest.