Horse Sense 1999

Michael Woods is a lazy, preppy 20-year-old living off his parents’ wealth in Los Angeles, juggling college classes and dating the spoiled heiress Gina, a relationship his family disapproves of. He learns that his 11-year-old cousin Tommy Biggs will visit from Montana, and he quickly decides to treat the visit as an inconvenience, prioritizing his social life over his guest. The household is reminded, through the steady reminders of the family’ s structures and expectations, that there are consequences to neglect, but Michael remains mostly indifferent as Tommy arrives.

On Tommy’s last day in California, the housekeeper Arlene warns Michael that his mistreatment could become known to his parents, a threat that seems hollow to him in the moment. To make up for the neglect, Michael plans a trip to Disneyland for Tommy, but Gina calls with a demand to meet at a racetrack to meet her father. He capitulates, leaving Tommy at a children’s daycare for a few hours, and drives off to charm Gina’s father, hoping to safeguard his social standing. After a brief, upbeat interaction with Gina’s father, Michael learns how late it has become and hurries back to fetch Tommy, only to collide his Porsche Boxster with another car owned by a woman named Diedre White. He discovers, upon returning home, that Arlene had picked up Tommy hours earlier, and Tommy leaves with a vow to get back at him someday.

Tommy returns to Montana, and at dinner Michael’s mother, Jules Biggs, mentions that his aunt complained Tommy never got to do anything, while Glenn Woods, Glenn Woods, adds that Arlene told him about Michael’s selfish decisions. The tension escalates when cops visit, investigating Michael’s racetrack accident. Although he provided Diedre with his information, she scribbles his license plate on a pad. Fed up with his selfishness, Glenn and Jules decide that a stern, life-changing consequence is in order: Michael must work on Jules’ ranch in Montana for a month, unpaid. They warn that if his parents learn of this, the planned trip to the French Riviera with Gina could be canceled. Michael heads to the ranch, meeting Jules’ ranch hands, Twister and Mule, along with Tommy.

At dawn, Michael dives into hard labor, only to have each task sabotaged by Tommy as revenge for the earlier neglect. The rift deepens until Michael confronts Tommy and admits that his bond with him years ago came from being the only children at the family reunion, not from any real closeness. Feeling cornered, he tells Tommy to leave him alone, a moment that makes Twister step in to set him straight. The ranch’s finances come into clearer view: the Biggs are in trouble, with late mortgage payments threatening foreclosure and an imminent bank sale of both the ranch and household belongings. Michael, shocked to learn the depth of their struggles, wonders why no one had told him sooner.

As the month on the ranch unfolds, Michael begins to change. He forms a true bond with Tommy, who reveals that his father was terminally ill, and that medical bills and lost labor had compounded financial strain. He also learns Jules is wary of accepting help because of pride, and discovers that a lender’s relief would come with conditions. When he returns to Los Angeles briefly, he realizes he no longer wants his old life and even tames a nervous horse using a lesson from Mule. He ends his romance with Gina, recognizing her social-climbing values for what they are. Glenn explains that he had offered financial assistance, but Jules’ pride kept them from accepting; Michael then sells his Porsche to raise funds and returns to Montana to present the money in an effort to keep the ranch afloat until a lasting solution can be found. Jules, though moved by his gesture, suggests that perhaps it is time for she and Tommy to move on.

On the day of the planned auction, Michael recalls a real estate class that covered land trusts. He negotiates with the bank to arrange a land-trust agreement that would allow the Biggs to stay on the property indefinitely, even if debt remains unsettled. With the bank on board, Jules agrees to let Michael continue working on the ranch and spending time with the family. The story closes with Tommy and Michael completing a tree house that the two had never managed to finish, a symbol of rebuilt trust and a future rooted in family.