Horse Sense

Horse Sense is a 1999 Disney Channel Original Movie, directed by Greg Beeman. It stars Joey and Andrew Lawrence. It was followed by a sequel called Jumping Ship.

Plot
A lazy and spoiled 20-year-old named Michael Woods invites his cousin Tommy Biggs to come and spend time with him in L.A.. Tommy is thrilled to be able to visit his cousin after years of not seeing each other, and arrives in L.A. with high expectations. However, Michael ignores Tommy almost the entire time and makes him feel unwelcome. Arlene, the Woods' housekeeper, later has a talk with Michael about ignoring Tommy, after which Michael tries to make amends by saying that he will take Tommy to Disneyland that day.

As Michael drives both himself and Tommy to Disneyland, he receives a call from his girlfriend, Gina, who is a drama queen and a snob. Gina asks Michael to come to the local racetrack, where she would introduce him to her father, who he had not met previously. Michael agrees, and drops Tommy off at a nearby Kiddie Zone so that he could go to the racetrack. On the way to pick Tommy up, Michael is involved in a minor car accident and gives the wrong information to the victim, Diedre White. When Michael finally arrives back at the Kiddie Zone to get Tommy, he learns from an employee that Tommy had already been picked up by Arlene. When Michael returns home, he and Tommy get into an argument. Tommy leaves the following morning, stating that if Michael ever comes to Montana, he'd like to "return the favor." Tommy's mother later calls Michael's parents to inform them of how rude Michael was to Tommy during his stay. Michael's parents then decide to punish him by sending him to his aunt Jules ranch in Montana to work for free for a month. His parents also add that if they hear any negative reports from Tommy or Jules, they won't allow Michael to go on his trip to the French Riviera with Gina.

When Michael arrives at the ranch, Tommy begins to exact his revenge by giving Michael complicated tasks to complete, most of which Tommy seems to know Michael will mess up in some way. After spending some time at the ranch, Michael learns that the ranch is going to be foreclosed on at the end of the month. Michael and Tommy decide that they must put their differences aside and work together in order to save the ranch from foreclosure.

In the end, Michael, having studied the concept of land trusts in college, realizes that since his aunt's ranch cares for wild horses, it's eligible to be overseen by the state government and shielded against repossession. Michael also learns a valuable lesson about loyalty and love, which proves to be one of the central aspects of the movie.

Cast

 * Joey Lawrence as Michael Woods
 * Andrew Lawrence as Tommy Biggs
 * Susan Walters as Jules Biggs
 * M.C. Gainey as Twister
 * Leann Hunley as Jacy Woods
 * Robin Thomas as Glenn Woods
 * Jolie Jenkins as Gina
 * Steve Reevis as Mule
 * Freda Foh Shen as Arlene
 * Ian Ogilvy as Miles
 * Nancy Renee as Professor Mallory Baynes
 * Channing Chase as Diedre White
 * Mike Trachtenberg as Lou
 * Dan Martin as Officer
 * Holmes Osborne as Mr. Hawthorne
 * Matthew Lawrence as Cowboy at Airport (uncredited)

Trivia

 * The movie includes the Lawrence Brothers: Joey, Matthew, and Andrew, who would star in various movies from the Disney Channel and provide voices to characters in Disney movies and shows.