I was surprised when I sent to see the Clinton Park stables, I was half-expecting some sort of Dickensian horror, sickly and traumatized horses jammed in tiny cells, shivering in the cold, unprotected from fire or the elements. That isn’t what I saw. Maria and I were both enchanted by the stables, three floors of horses, hay and stalls, an aroma of hay, leather, some manure. The animals were alert and curious, they all came up to check out visitors, they enjoyed beyond rubbed, handled, talk to.

The stables are evocative, old, a throwback to another time. The horses seem quite healthy and content, there was a modern fire alarm and sprinkler system. I don’t really even want to deal with the abuse thing anymore, there has surely been some, it is mostly unsubstantiated hysteria, there is just no real evidence to support it. As a journalist, I learned to be wary of mob hysteria, especially in this era, when any yahoo on a blog can make any accusation they want, it will never be fact-checked or challenged. This issue reminds me of how badly we need journalism in our culture, some trained fact-gatherers to stand outside of the arguments and look for the truth.

I keep thinking the New York Times is just a few blocks from these stables, why has no reporter gone there to see for him or herself what is happening inside? Nobody is hiding, visitors are welcome, not the customary stance of animal abusers.

The stables welcome visitors, I would urge visitors to New York to consider visiting, they are quite welcoming and eager to show their horses and stables off. I’m going back when it warms up a bit to take a carriage ride with Christina Hansen, I want to experience the other part of the carriage horses more directly.