By Ben Robinson and Faye Mayern
A horse breeder living in a tiny village near the UK’s horse capital has been left stunned after receiving a noise complaint about the “constant neighing” of her foals.
Mandy Young, 59, has said the letter from West Suffolk Council on Tuesday (Nov 4) about the alleged noise complaint had left her “paranoid.”
The letter, dated October 30, reads that it had received a complaint regarding the ‘disturbance caused by constant neighing of horses’ on neighboring properties.
Young, from near the tiny village Stradishall, in Suffolk, has 12 horses in total which she breeds but denied her animals were making excessive noise.
The keen equestrian lives just 10 miles south of Newmarket – known as the ‘headquarters’ of British horseracing for its race course.
She said: “The only thing I can assume is 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.”
Young, who owns a stallion, five broodmares and four foals as well as riding horses, added: “It is ridiculous and petty or there’s an ulterior motive.
“Horses do whiny 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.”
The letter from the council states 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 have to provide further information on how they are disrupted.
But the letter added that the claims had not been substantiated.
Young added that if she was informed there was a problem, she would have moved the horses.
She continued: “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.”
