Racing NSW wants compulsory vaccination of thoroughbreds and other competition horses nationally, arguing these horses are most likely to spread any new outbreak because they travel extensively.

"We believe that in any commercial industry you've got to have risk management. By not having vaccination you've got no risk management whatsoever," the head of Racing NSW, Peter V'Landys, said.

Mr V'Landys believes Australia is at a high risk of a recurrence because no country has eradicated the disease.

He said Australia should copy England in vaccinating competitive horses as they have only lost a week's worth of racing in 20 years.

Mr V'Landys said every thoroughbred in NSW had already been vaccinated with the exception of the horses that had contracted equine influenza last year.

While vaccination has been criticised because of the likelihood that mutations will become resistant, Mr V'Landys argued that "with booster shots you can contain any mutation".

The NSW Minister for Primary Industries, Ian Macdonald, supported Racing NSW's proposal to restrict vaccination to competition horses.

"You would vaccinate twice annually your performance horses and it wouldn't be compulsory for all other horse breeders. It would be optional," he said.

With a national summit on the issue due next month, Mr Macdonald said it would be necessary for the racing industry to lobby the Commonwealth because there was resistance from other states.

"Most of the world does vaccinate," he said. "There is a massive risk of not vaccinating."

But the Equestrian Federation of Australia and Pony Club Australia opposed compulsory vaccination.

"Compulsory vaccination is not only quite costly in the long term, it also does not offer guarantees against future outbreak and the imposition of movement restrictions," the federation's chief executive, Franz Venhaus, said.

"It will also make the detection of any infection much more difficult."

Fiona Carruthers, who has just published The Horse In Australia, said vaccination is controversial because it was so traumatic for horse owners.

"From all the parties I talked to, I can see both points of view," she said.