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Horse Sense

As the battle rages over whether the Central Park horse-drawn carriages should be banned, the politics involved confound the debate. Add to the mix a recent poll which shows that nearly two-thirds of New Yorkers want the horses to keep their jobs ferrying tourists around midtown Manhattan.

At issue is Mayor Bill de Blasio’s determination to end the carriage trade — at least the horse end of it — and the drivers’ resolve to stay in business with 300 jobs on the line.

Many of the drivers live in northeast Queens, home to state Sen. Tony Avella, who has sided with the mayor.

De Blasio is aligned with the animal rights activists group NYClass, which helped win him a berth in City Hall with its strong financial support for the “anybody but Quinn” campaign in the 2013 mayoral race. The drivers organized several years ago under a local chapter of the powerful Teamsters union, which has clout in the city’s power-sharing dance.

At the center of the debate is the well-being of the horses, which ply Manhattan’s clogged streets in all kinds of weather and stand in long lines waiting for riders along Central Park South’s fabled gold coast.

Back in the late 19th century, when horses were an integral part of the city’s daily life, Central Park welcomed horse-back riders and horse-drawn carriages with a network of bridle path. This is a long tradition that should be honored but only if good working conditions are guaranteed for the horses.

The ASPCA recently turned oversight of the carriage industry over to the NYPD, which has years of experience with its own police horses. The department should be able to enforce acceptable working hours, weather limitations and other regulations already in place to protect the horses after dealing with every kind of miscreant on two legs.

In a further move to save the industry and safeguard the horses, we would like to see the city explore building a stable for some of the carriage horses in Central Park and restricting the carriage rides to the park. The horses should not have to vie with trucks and SUVs while delivering a romantic trip in the city.

Compromise is needed at this point to satisfy the mayor, the animal rights activists, the union and the drivers. Each group has a compelling argument to make.

But in our view humane regulation is the best solution rather than proposed electric carriages, which would ignore the city’s equine history, consign the idled horses to an uncertain future and deprive residents of a tradition cherished by many as essential New York.