The Colt is a movie set in the middle of the American Civil War. This movie starts off at the end of the Battle of Gettysburg. The main character, Jim, loses his brother when the rebels attack and comes to inherit his brother’s horse, Jen. Jim feels the overwhelming urge to protect Jen because she links him to his brother. While the platoon is moving to a new location, the rebels attack again and during the commotion Jen spooks and runs into the forest. Jim chases after her into a wooded area, only to find that Jen has foaled.

Jim’s commanding officer made it clear he did not want the new colt running with the platoon, and Jim should kill the young horse and put him out of his misery.  Jim wrestled with what was right and wrong to do with the horse, and was unable to bring himself to kill Jen’s new foal before it was time for the unit to move locations again.

Once again, the group of young men and their horses was ambushed. This time it was the colt that got spooked and ran into the band of rebels. Jen, being a new mom, followed the colt right through the group of men. It was after this that Jim decided that it would be best for the colt to be killed, but it was the commanding officer who disagreed this time.

This movie is a heart-warming story about how resilient a young animal is and how sometimes all anyone needs is a small amount of inspiration to keep going. The Colt is one of the few Civil War movies that is not focused on the battles or the fighting, but on how a platoon found the hope and the determination to keep fighting.

I give this movie five stars because it has a good moral story, it is a great movie for people of all ages, and it is a must see for horse enthusiasts or animal lovers of all ages

The Colt was released on DVD on April 14, 2005, and was shown during the Palm Beach International Film Festival.