NEW YORK CITY — A Queens stable run by the Federation of Black Cowboys was shuttered this week after investigators found that six horses have died there in as many months, according to the Parks Department.
One horse was tangled in its collar, two died from undetermined causes, two from old age and one foal died soon after birth at Cedar Lane Stables in South Ozone Park, according to the New York Times.
The Parks Department called the deaths an “alarming number of fatalities” and suspended the license of the Federation of Black Cowboys, which has been operating the facility since 1998.
Under its previous “rough board” arrangement, the stable required the horse's owners to care for the animals themselves, leaving many to malnourish or abandon their horses.
“Unfortunately, there have been an alarming number of horse fatalities and health issues at this site as well as problems with the physical condition of the facilities, making it clear that a “rough board” arrangement can no longer work,” wrote Philip Abramson, a spokesman for the Parks Department, in an email.
Owners must remove their horses from the stables, at 83-12 S. Conduit Ave., to make way for city-ordered renovations over the next six months, officials said.
The Federation of Black Cowboys will have to prove it can run a “full board” facility upon re-opening, where members of the federation assume responsibility for the horses' caretaking.
Sheryl Mose, president of the Federation of Black Cowboys, called the shutdown unfair and said most of the horses died of natural causes, according to the Daily News, which first reported the story.
The Parks Department will work with the Federation of Black Cowboys to relocate horses within the month.