Central Park’s carriage-horse drivers have said “neigh” to allowing the city to test their animals for drugs, injuries and potential abuse, prompting officials to threaten a lawsuit and suspension of operations.
A vet was hired by the mayor’s office to conduct the first-of-its-kind “independent” testing but then denied access to a sampling of more than a dozen park horses across three stables this month without any good explanation, First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro told The Post in an interview.
The “standard full horse examinations” were set to include trotting to evaluate possible lameness and blood testing for drugs such as painkillers.
“What we have here is industry-wide collusion to prevent an independent vet from properly examining these horses,” Mastro said, calling the widespread refusal “illegal” and “gravely concerning…