Get to know a carriage driver

Say, what's it like to be a carriage driver?
'Ask a New Yorker'(TM) spoke with Brandon, who in 2006 had been driving a carriage for 25 years--long enough to get the hang of the job, apparently. He described it this way:

"I can't think of another job where I can sit on my butt all day, bull****, and make a reasonable amount of money. Unless I was a politician or lawyer."

Nice, isn't it? That's the gist of it. The "New Yorker of the Month" threw in the standard insults about tourists asking silly questions--your basic New York attitude. Seriously! Read it
Susan d'Arcy makes a pointed observation of her own (HorseWatchNYC, May 12, 2008)

SUPPORT THE PROPOSED BAN ON HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES--ASK YOUR CITY COUNCIL MEMBER TO CO-SPONSOR THE BILL (INTRO. 658) TO BAN THIS INHERENTLY INHUMANE INDUSTRY. Read an Expert Opinion on the horses' grim living conditions.

A full ban is supported by: American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Humane Society of the United States, Friends of Animals, and dozens of other mainstream organizations working together through the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages.