CRACKING A WHIP

By HEIDI SINGER and DAVID ANDREATTA
Animal-control authorities slapped hansom-cab drivers and horse and stable
owners with violations ranging from poor animal treatment to erratic driving
an average of once every five days last year.
Officials with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
said the 76 summonses issued by the organization — one of three to oversee
the industry — highlight the challenges of handling horses on frenetic
Manhattan streets.
The task was underscored on Monday by a hansom-cab crash that left carriage
driver Carmelo Vargas hospitalized in critical condition and forced
veterinarians to put down the horse.
“Horses and traffic are an accident waiting to happen, and when one does,
it’s horrific,” said Edward Sayres, president of the ASPCA, which is lobbying to
restrict the carriage rides and stables to Central Park.
“At some point, the horses will be confined to Central Park, because the
program cannot function in high-traffic zones,” Sayres added. “We’d like to see
that day come sooner or later.” (snip)…

In the most recent accident, the horse became spooked while pulling a
carriage to a West Side stable and galloped six blocks before colliding with a car —
breaking its leg and sending the carriage driver flying.
Carriage drivers insist the regulations should remain as is — with horses
permitted to pull carriages in the park or on adjacent streets between 10 a.m.
and 9 p.m.
Drivers chalked up the crash to inexperience…
“You need a certain amount of experience driving horses, and if you put a
complete novice out there, you’re asking for problems,” said one driver who
spoke on condition of anonymity. (snip)…
Last year, two horses ran loose in traffic after a driver hit their coach. In
2003, two cabs carrying passengers toppled after their horses bolted.
heidi.singer@nypost.com