The fate of horse-drawn carriages in the city remains in limbo, with Mayor Bill de Blasio eyeing a compromise. NY1's Josh Robin filed the following report.

Cornelius Byrne's father drove a horse carriage, and the building he owns began as stables more than a century ago.

"It puts a smile on my face," Byrne said.

Stress is creeping in these days. That's because this stable and three others may be forced to shut. Its horses moved to a city stable in Central Park.

"We thought that this matter was settled and was going away because we had so much public support," Byrne said.

Instead, secret negotiations are ongoing between the de Blasio administration and City Council members.

Sources say the number of horses allowed in the city could be more than halved, with the fate of the others unknown.

Mayor Bill de Blasio had vowed to ban the carriages his first day, but with the City Council saying no to eliminating the industry entirely, a compromise emerged to limit the horses to the park.

They could be stabled at one Parks Department facility, but that facility is said to fit only 70 horses out of 220 now in the city.

Driver Ian McKeever wonders what happens to the other horses, or if the stable's horses will end up working even harder.

"One hundred fifty thousand horses go to slaughter every year in this country," McKeever said.

Advocates have said they find sanctuaries for them.

There's another wrinkle. Sources say official talks have pedicabs limited to the less touristy northern part of the park, perhaps to sweeten the deal for the carriage drivers.

Of course, that doesn't sit well with pedicab driver like Laramie Flick.

"It would be absolutely absurd," Flick said. "It would be laughable for de Blasio to go from proposing to ban the horse drawn-carriages to giving them a monopoly on tours in Central Park."

De Blasio declined comment. Opponents of horse drawn carriages contributed heavily to his campaign for mayor more than two years ago and also attacked a top rival, former City Council speaker Christine Quinn.

With his vow a political liability, it looks like the mayor wants a deal soon. Meanwhile, the clopping goes on.