Source plot synopsis — includes the ending
In Lake Luzerne, New York, teenagers Grace MacLean and her best friend Judith go out early one winter's morning to ride their horses, Pilgrim and Gulliver. As they ride up an icy slope, Gulliver slips and hits Pilgrim. Both horses fall, dragging the girls onto a road, where they are hit by a tractor-trailer. Judith and Gulliver are killed, while Grace and Pilgrim are severely injured.
Grace, left with a partially amputated right leg, is bitter and withdrawn after the accident. Meanwhile, Pilgrim is traumatized and uncontrollable to the extent that it is suggested he be put down. Grace's mother Annie, a strong-minded, workaholic magazine editor, refuses to allow it, sensing that Grace's recovery is linked with Pilgrim's.
Desperate for a way to heal Grace and Pilgrim, Annie tracks down a "horse whisperer", Tom Booker, in the remote Montana mountains. Tom agrees to help but only if Grace takes part in the process. Grace reluctantly agrees, and she and Annie go to stay at the Booker ranch where Tom lives with his brother and his brother's family.
As Pilgrim and Grace slowly overcome their trauma, Annie and Tom develop a mutual attraction. However, they are both reluctant to act on these feelings – Annie is married, and Tom had his heart broken when his wife left him because she belonged in the city. Tom asks Grace to tell him what happened with her and Pilgrim to understand what Pilgrim is feeling. At first, Grace is reluctant, but she eventually gathers the courage to describe the accident.
The status quo between Annie and Tom is broken when Robert MacLean, Grace's father and Annie's husband, unexpectedly shows up at the ranch. Annie is torn between her feelings for Tom and her love for her family. Soon, with Tom's help, Grace takes the last step to heal herself and Pilgrim – riding Pilgrim again. As the MacLeans get ready to leave the ranch, Robert tells Annie that he wants her to make a choice and not to come home until she is sure.
Although Annie wishes she could stay with Tom on the ranch, she knows that she belongs in the city, just like Tom's wife. She departs while Tom watches her go from the top of a hill.
Grace, left with a partially amputated right leg, is bitter and withdrawn after the accident. Meanwhile, Pilgrim is traumatized and uncontrollable to the extent that it is suggested he be put down. Grace's mother Annie, a strong-minded, workaholic magazine editor, refuses to allow it, sensing that Grace's recovery is linked with Pilgrim's.
Desperate for a way to heal Grace and Pilgrim, Annie tracks down a "horse whisperer", Tom Booker, in the remote Montana mountains. Tom agrees to help but only if Grace takes part in the process. Grace reluctantly agrees, and she and Annie go to stay at the Booker ranch where Tom lives with his brother and his brother's family.
As Pilgrim and Grace slowly overcome their trauma, Annie and Tom develop a mutual attraction. However, they are both reluctant to act on these feelings – Annie is married, and Tom had his heart broken when his wife left him because she belonged in the city. Tom asks Grace to tell him what happened with her and Pilgrim to understand what Pilgrim is feeling. At first, Grace is reluctant, but she eventually gathers the courage to describe the accident.
The status quo between Annie and Tom is broken when Robert MacLean, Grace's father and Annie's husband, unexpectedly shows up at the ranch. Annie is torn between her feelings for Tom and her love for her family. Soon, with Tom's help, Grace takes the last step to heal herself and Pilgrim – riding Pilgrim again. As the MacLeans get ready to leave the ranch, Robert tells Annie that he wants her to make a choice and not to come home until she is sure.
Although Annie wishes she could stay with Tom on the ranch, she knows that she belongs in the city, just like Tom's wife. She departs while Tom watches her go from the top of a hill.
Sources and content license
Source and revision history ↗ · Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, The Horse Whisperer (film). Section headings and formatting adjusted. · Content license