The novel had previously been made into a film by 20th Century Fox in 1943, and served as the inspiration for My Friend Flicka, a 39-episode TV series in 1956–1957.

The film also features Maria Bello, Ryan Kwanten and country singer Tim McGraw, who also served as executive producer of the soundtrack album.

He is grooming her older brother, Howard, to take over the ranch and sends Katy away to a private school where she feels like a misfit.

When she comes home for the summer, Katy is met with her father's disapproval because she did not finish a writing assignment at school, but is welcomed by her mother, Nell, and Howard.

Rob goes outside and starts to cry as he finally understands his daughter's feelings - her pain and what a prideful, angry and selfish person he's been to his family all of these years.

The next morning, Nell finds Rob walking back to the house, supporting the injured Flicka.

The site's consensus states: "The rebellious protagonist will rally girls and children, but adults may find Flicka saddled with thin characters, over-the-top dialogue, and a plot that wanders into the countryside and never comes back".

[6] This version of the My Friend Flicka film and book series had a mixed to negative reception, praising Tim McGraw and Maria Bello's performances but criticizing the film for its script, lacking classic, teen drama, plot in comparison, narration, unofficial characters (which aren't even authorized in the books and original films), mild profanity, horse-girl stereotype, changing Flicka's fur color appearance from chestnut to black and the removal of the 10-year-old boy and official protagonist Ken McLaughlin out of the story for an unofficial female lead character instead, unlike 20th Century Fox's original film franchise and its books.

Variety's Todd McCarthy praised the film as "wonderful", called it "the best horse-and-kid picture since The Black Stallion" and "a young adult drama that rings emotionally true, with nary a manufactured note struck" that is "sharply observed and acted".

[7] Similarly, Stephen Hunter in The Washington Post described it as "a well-made family drama pitched to young adults that's honest, tough and surprisingly engaging" while praising McGraw's, Bello's and Lohman's performances.

[9] On the other hand, Andrea Gronvall was unimpressed by Lohman while writing for the Chicago Reader, calling her performance "alternately shrill and pouty" and deeming the film to be "another miscalculation" on the part of director Michael Mayer.

[10] Writing for The New York Times, Manohla Dargis also mocked Lohman's "pouty" performance and labeled the film as "entertainingly ridiculous" with "parts [that] never cohere dramatically".

The first death occurred at Big Sky Ranch in Simi Valley, California, on April 11, 2005 during a running scene.

According to the American Humane Association (AHA), the horse broke its leg after a misstep and suffered a very rare injury requiring the animal to be euthanized.

[13] The second horse died two weeks later on April 25, at the Hansen Dam Equestrian Center in San Fernando Valley.

Reports from both the AHA and the Los Angeles Animal Services Department concluded that during the shooting of a scene involving four horses, one of them got loose from the cowboy who was holding its lead rope, and after having been running loose for some 20 seconds, the horse changed direction and tripped on the regulation length 13-foot lead rope and fell to the ground, breaking its neck and dying instantly.