Mary Farr Introduces Books by an Equine Author

Mary Farr has been a writer for all of her professional life, in one manner or another. As a chaplain, values of justice, passion, fairness and integrity have played a prominent role in much of her writing. However, her latest book was not penned by her hand but, rather curiously, by a pair of hooves. Meet Noah Vail, the American quarter horse author, blogger and social media maven extraordinaire. In Never Say Neigh, Noah travels the countryside in his comfy Sundowner trailer with his animal friends, recounting his adventures with “the Management,” as he sometimes calls Farr. Noah’s tale is not a comic story à la Mr. Ed; instead, he touches on meaningful issues of friendship, fairness and the pursuit of happiness told with a charming voice and a playful sense of humor. The book is Farr’s attempt at a “’humorous spiritual corrective’ for our times,” she says. Noah’s “voice” was discovered at the Fortuna Farm stables in Long Lake when Farr noticed the horse’s display of discomfort as a radio spewed a litany of wretched news. Farr unplugged it, and thus Noah the horse became Noah the author-to-be. “I can’t be offering some kind of major homily from a chaplain about how nasty the world is, but maybe I could turn this on its head and use the horse as the tool or the vehicle,” Farr says. Once a racehorse in training, Noah now lives the good life. He opines on the human condition, plays cribbage and falls in love. He soaks up good news of all kinds and dishes it out in full-fledged horse hilarity. If you are interested in this equine writer’s laugh out-loud-quest for the meaning of hope and happiness, don’t take our word for it. Get it straight from the horse’s mouth.