2 hours ago
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It is known as the “headquarters of horse racing”, with its equine heritage stretching to the 17th century. But one resident near Newmarket has apparently had enough – and complained to the local council about the neighing horses.
Mandy Young, a horse owner based about 10 miles from the racecourse, said she received a notice of the complaint in the post and was told it was linked to the “constant neighing” of her animals.
She called it “ridiculous”, adding: “The area is super horsey. It’s the main home of horse racing … Newmarket is one of the few places where they have actual roads and crossings dedicated to the horses. There are probably more horses than there are people in Newmarket.”
Young, who has 15 horses at her home, said five of the seven properties nearby also kept horses. “I think there’s about 25 horses in about a half-mile radius.”
She said the complaint dated to the end of last month and was most likely related to a period when she was weaning foals. According to the international charity World Horse Welfare, the process can be stressful for horses and cause them to call out to one another.
“They did call a bit but it definitely wasn’t constant. It was just a bit more than it would usually be, and it is over now,” Young said. “They did do a little bit of calling last night … They’ll call backwards and forwards to each other for a few minutes and then they stop. So that’s what I assume it is from.”
She said the complaint could have been triggered by her using a different field to wean the animals than previously – speculating that people living near the new field may not be used to having horses nearby.
Nevertheless, she said, horses were not considered among the noisiest of animals. “Cattle are noisy… One of my friends said: ‘They should be here. I’ve got cattle next door.’ When they’re weaning the calves, they make an awful lot of noise.
“The thing is, I don’t just cold-turkey wean them. I separate them during the day for a good few weeks before I take them apart. So they are actually used to not being with their mums sometimes. It’s not such a shock to them, so they don’t make as much noise.”
In any case, Young said: “Moving to Newmarket and then complaining about horse noise is like moving next to a railway track and then complaining about the train.
“I was just more shocked than anything that somebody would just report me to the council, rather than come and say: ‘A. Your horses are being very noisy, are they all right?’ Or ‘B. Your horses are being very noisy – can you do something about it?’ But they didn’t.”
West Suffolk council, which sent Young the notice, said the letter explained that, having received a complaint, it was legally required to act and was therefore informing her “at an early stage”.
A spokesperson said: “We haven’t substantiated the complaint – the letter also says: ‘If you do not consider you are making any unreasonable noise you need take no further action.’
“If the alleged noise disturbance continues, we will require the person who made the complaint to provide further details of how and when they are disturbed before we can make further inquiries and gather evidence.”
The spokesperson added that they could not confirm whether an investigation would take place unless the complainant provided further information.
