A Horse Breeder’s Frustration Over Noise Complaints
A horse breeder has found herself in a difficult situation after receiving complaints from local villagers about the noise her foals were making. Mandy Young, 59, from Stradishall, Suffolk, has been left feeling “paranoid” after a letter from the council accused her animals of causing disturbances on neighboring properties.
West Suffolk Council informed her that they had received a complaint regarding her 12 horses, which she breeds, for making excessive noise. Ms. Young, an avid equestrian who lives just 10 miles south of Newmarket — often referred to as the “headquarters” of British horseracing due to its racecourse — denied that her horses were the source of the noise, calling the complaint “petty.”
She explained: “Horses do whinny, but it’s not a big deal. It makes me feel a bit paranoid. If there was a lot of noise, I’d be there checking there wasn’t a problem and I’d hope others would come to me too.”
Ms. Young owns a stallion, five broodmares, four foals, and several riding horses. She added, “The only thing I can assume is that I have just weaned three of the foals.”
“There has been a little bit more neighing than usual, but not a lot. The foals and mares are separated into different fields and can call out to each other. We’re just outside Newmarket, which is horse city. Where I live, I can count about 25 horses in a half a mile stretch.”
According to the World Horse Welfare charity, weaning can be stressful for foals, and vocalization often occurs during this time. Ms. Young continued, “The additional calling was very short-lived, was during daylight hours, and was not enough to be a legal nuisance, otherwise I would have been concerned about it myself.”
The council’s letter states that it is “required to investigate all complaints where noise significantly and unreasonably affects neighboring properties.” It adds that if the alleged disturbance continues, the person affected will need to provide further information on how they are disrupted. However, the letter also mentions that the claims had not been substantiated.
Ms. Young said that if she was informed there was a problem, she would have moved the horses. “My argument is if there is a problem, it is clearly something I am not hearing, so why not come and knock on my door? If they told me it was causing a disturbance, I would have moved them.”
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