Not very neigh-bourly! Horse breeder is livid after villagers complained that her foals have been too loud in Britain’s equine capital

A horse breeder has been left raging after receiving complaints from villagers that her foals were ‘constantly neighing’ in the country’s equine capital.

Mandy Young, 59, from Stradishall, Suffolk, has been left ‘paranoid’ after a letter from the council accused her animals of causing a disturbance on neighbouring properties.  

West Suffolk Council told her it had received a complaint about her 12 horses, which she breeds, making excessive noise.

Ms Young, a keen equestrian who lives just 10 miles south of Newmarket – known as the ‘headquarters’ of British horseracing for its racecourse, denied that her horses made the racket, claiming the complaint was ‘petty’.

She said: ‘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.’

The 59-year-old owns a stallion, five broodmares and four foals as well as riding horses.

She added: ‘The only thing I can assume is I have just weaned three of the foals.

Mandy Young, 59, from Stradishall, Suffolk, has been left ‘paranoid’ after a letter from the council accused her animals of causing a disturbance on neighbouring properties

West Suffolk Council told Ms Young it had received a complaint about her 12 horses, which she breeds, making excessive noise

‘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.’

Weaning can be stressful for foals and vocalisation ofter occurs, according to the World Horse Welfare charity.

She added: ‘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 it is ‘required to investigate all complaints where noise significantly and unreasonably affects neighbouring 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. 

Ms Young denied that her horses made the racket, claiming the complaint was ‘petty’

Ms Young said 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.’