Common Sense Media Review
By Tracy Moore
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Faith-based film about rebellious teen has heavy themes.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
A Horse for Summer
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
When Summer's mom is arrested again for theft and put in jail for an indeterminate amount of time, Summer is forced to live with her mom's brother Kent Walsh (Dean Cain) and his family until better arrangements can be made. There, Summer struggles to fit into their stable, Christian life, but when she sees how much the family is struggling to make ends meet, she resorts to a difficult choice to help them out. Soon, Summer and the family will have to learn whether there is any such thing as doing a bad thing for good reasons.
Is It Any Good?
A HORSE FOR SUMMER is not particularly well-acted, and the dialogue often feels overly scripted and heavy-handed in the portrayal of its redemption story. There are a lot of serious scenes about struggling to pay bills and some intense family conflict about the choice to allow a troubled teen into their home.
But for Christian families interested in redemption stories, there are a lot of positive messages here and at least one really intriguing, positive idea that could be worth the price of admission: the notion that a stronger community full of people who help those less fortunate without judgment or hesitation could help those struggling to make better choices. An incarcerated parent and a dying horse make for some intense scenes, though. Best for older kids.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why so many movies about wayward teens involve working with horses to learn the value of hard work. Why do you think they're so popular?
Is A Horse for Summer an accurate movie about the work involved in caring for a horse? Why, or why not?
Is it ever OK to do the wrong thing for the right reason? If so, when?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : January 6, 2015
- Cast : Dean Cain
- Director : Nancy Criss
- Studio : Vertical Entertainment
- Genre : Family and Kids
- Topics : Friendship , School ( High School ) , Animals
- Run time : 96 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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