Who knew a show about horses could be so heartbreaking?
open/close all folders
Season One
- In the very first episode, Amy and Lou's mother, Marion, is killed in a car accident helping to rescue an abused horse, with her fifteen-year-old daughter in the car as well, who is seriously injured. Amy blames herself for the accident, as she's the one who told her mother about the abused horse, Spartan. Imagine being Marion's father (who Amy and Marion lived with at the time) getting that call...
- Early in season 1, one of Lou's friends comes into the stables wearing one of Marion's old jackets, and Amy thinks it's her mom for a moment or two.
- The season 1 (episode 8) story of Gallant Prince, a former racehorse who was severely burned in a fire at his home stable, is also incredibly heartbreaking. It is only when Gallant Prince's former trainer, Ryan, comes to help him that Gallant Prince improves from his trauma. Ryan was also severely burned in the fire and even let go from his job as a result, as the stable owner, Dan, blames Ryan for the fire. At the end of the episode, it is revealed that it was actually the fault of another trainer at the stables, Sam.
- Lou and Amy's relationship is really, really rocky at first, once Lou steps into a new role as the financial manager of Heartland. Amy thinks Lou is just staying for the money, while Lou doesn't know enough about the work that Amy does at the ranch to do her job properly.
- Lou's breakdown over her mom's death when Mrs. Bell's pony Sugarfoot comes to stay at Heartland.
- Lou's fear of horses comes from having witnessed her father's serious riding accident years before.
- While both Amy and Lou are out for the night, the stables at Heartland are set on fire while only Jack is home (and asleep). He is woken up by the horses and the family dog all freaking out to see the arsonist running away from the scene of the crime. While Jack is seemingly able to rescue many of the horses, he loses consciousness and winds up with a subdural hematoma.
- Ashley's mother, Val, threatens to sell her horse Apollo (who is no longer performing consistently in competition) if he doesn't place well at the Fall Finale, which forces Ashley to ask Amy for help to be able to keep him.
- While Amy is observing Ashley and Apollo, she realizes that the issue is that Ashley is subconsciously afraid to perform in front of her mother, and Val actually listens to Amy's advice not to be in the arena when Ashley is competing.
- During the Fall Finale, Spartan's abusive former owner comes to take him back due to Val's telling him that Spartan had returned to competition, which messes with Amy's head just before the final part of the competition.
- Once his probation at Heartland is over, Ty decides to leave to go see his father, whom he has not seen since the father left when Ty was twelve.
- Amy wakes up the day after winning the Fall Finale to find Ty gone, after having kissed him the night before for the first time. She goes up to his old loft and finds the cowboy hat Jack had given him as well as a letter from Ty explaining why he had left.
Season Two
- Ghost Horse
- The first time we see Ty in season 2, he's being beaten up by two fully-grown adults who say they're looking for his dad. While we don't yet know the circumstances, it seems likely that his father is not the best man. The next time they meet, the men threaten to kill either Ty or his dad if they are not paid quickly enough.
- The season 2 premiere also contains several flashbacks to Amy and Ty in season 1, and Amy spends a fair amount of time in Ty's old loft. Keep in mind, at this point it has been 4 months since Ty left, and it's clearly still hitting Amy hard.
- Jack and Ty come back to see Amy and Caleb dancing on the front porch, and Amy is too upset with Ty to even speak to him. Even Mallory punches him for not calling in the past 4 months, although she does at least hug him. Ty also comes back to find that his old job has been taken over by Caleb.
- When Caleb and Amy are unable to control the new mustang by themselves, Amy tells Mallory (who is watching) to go get Scott, even though Ty is also right there and willing and able to help.
- Letting Go
- Caleb's horse, Shorty, twists an ankle when Caleb is trying to show off for Tim, who offers to help him with rodeo training; Scott says that, even if the injury heals perfectly, Shorty may not be able to compete in rodeo events again.
- When Ashley is trying to calm Apollo down, Val gets angry and whips Apollo into action. Apollo knocks at least one pole down on every jump because he is so afraid. Ashley is so upset at what her mother did that she quits show-jumping on the spot.
- Gift Horse: The episode after her birthday, Amy has to give up her new showjumper Storm because she cannot keep up with her schoolwork, Heartland, her sister's retreat, and show-jumping all at the same time, even though she and Storm had just won the latest show-jumping competition and Amy genuinely loves Storm. She winds up selling him to her friend Nick, who tells her she can visit anytime, but it is still a very difficult moment.
- Dancing in the Dark
- During the cattle drive, Ty reveals that his father has been in and out of prison for his (Ty's) entire life, and that was why Ty left Heartland to go see him at the end of the previous season.
- After spending the day catering to Lou's new clients, Lou and Scott have a bad fight and break up, due to their conflicting schedules, even though they both acknowledge that they still love each other.
- Corporate Cowgirls
- When Lou's New York friends come to visit, she realizes how much she misses New York, especially since the girl who came in to replace her at the company, Lauren, has already been promoted.
- When Mallory takes Spartan out on an (unauthorized) trail-ride, Spartan runs away and gets into some plants by the side of the road that are doused in pesticide. Shortly after they get back to Heartland, he is lying down on his side in the paddock, foaming at the mouth with pesticide poisoning. While Spartan does recover, it is a scary, dangerous situation, especially since Scott is not able to come and only Ty and Mallory are at the ranch.
- Lou's perfectionist friend Lauren is so fed up with her boyfriend that she kisses Lou's father Tim on the mouth (even though he's at least twice her age) and then runs into her tent crying. She also reveals that both her friends are rather bitchy and her "perfect" boyfriend, whom she has been dating for five years, is cheating on her.
- Holding Fast
- After helping save the drowning boy, Constable Rodriguez's horse, Venture, is obviously traumatized by water, and Constable Rodriguez is afraid to show emotion about the possibility of his horse being forcibly retired.
- Much of Constable Rodriguez and Venture's fear of water comes from Rodriguez's younger brother having drowned while drunk years before, in the same river that he and Venture rescued the drowning boy from (a death that Rodriguez blames himself for and eventually breaks down crying over while attempting to join-up with Venture).
- Sweetheart of the Rodeo
- As revenge for Ashley entering the Rodeo Queen competition without permission, Val sells Ashley's beloved showjumper, Apollo, even after Ashley says she will wants to jump for fun.
- Ashley loses the Rodeo Queen competition as a result of poor sportsmanship and winds up getting very drunk during the afterparty after finding out that her mother Val sold Apollo.
- Summer's End
- Jack has to perform a Mercy Kill on a horse whose head has been badly trampled due to being transported on a cattle trailer (whose roof is too low for a horse to be able to stand safely), even though Amy begs him not to. The next morning, we learn that all the horses are destined for a slaughterhouse, and are still supposed to be sent there after recovering from heat exhaustion at Heartland.
- In the same episode, we meet Ty's father, who abandoned Ty and his mother years ago and led to Ty's mother remarrying the abusive stepfather. Even though the father spends most of the episode trying to make amends with his son, Ty wants nothing to do with him. This is later shown to be at least partially a ruse, as the father steals the money Lou had saved up to buy the slaughterhouse horses and leaves in the night.
- One of the horses from the meat truck is Apollo. Amy calls Ashley, who immediately comes to see her old horse, crying. She is so upset that her mother sold Apollo to them that she returns long enough to break her mother's windows and then refuses to return home for the next several episodes. Val slaps her for her disrespect and then cuts her off financially.
- When the heatwave finally breaks with a rainstorm, Amy pulls Ty into a kiss, and Ty says he needs more time, which causes Amy to run away.
- Showdown!
- Kit is noticeably broken up about her father's cattle being stolen.
- Val tries to bribe Ashley into coming home, but is ultimately unsuccessful. She is practically in tears over losing her daughter's trust; Ashley just wanted her mother to love her like the other children's mothers, but now just wanted her mother to leave her alone.
- When Ashley runs away from Val, she comes across a cattle-rustler's truck on Tim's ranch, where only Ty and Caleb are keeping watch (with no cell service). While Ashley does immediately go get Jack, the boys and Amy, who is riding Spartan in the forest, are all in pretty serious danger, especially when a rustler separates Amy from Spartan and holds her up at gunpoint.
- True Enough
- Amy's science teacher's father, Hank Adams, has Alzheimer's and has to give up his beloved horse, Boxer, who stops eating when he arrives at Heartland because he misses his old owner.
- Tim and Callie have a bad fight because Tim hasn't told his daughters or ex-father-in-law about their relationship, although they eventually do make up.
- Miss Adams reveals that she, like Amy, lost her mother as a teenager, and her Alzheimer's-riddled father is the only family she has left.
- Jack has Hank listen to a CD that he and Jack's wife Lindy had recorded many years before. The man, who has Alzheimer's, quickly recognizes the song and picks up a guitar to play along.
- Starstruck!: Pegasus is severely injured by a spoiled actress riding him without permission.
- Divorce Horse
- Diva bites Amy hard enough to draw blood.
- Lisa and Lou's relationship is severely damaged, as Lou believes Lisa overstepped her boundaries with regards to Mackenzie's wedding and Peter getting a hold of Lou's email address. This feud lasts several episodes.
- Do or Die
- Ty finally reveals what got him sent to the group home: He finally got back at his abusive stepfather, and a neighbor called the cops on him.
- After hearing Tara say she's afraid of him, Badger runs away from Heartland overnight, leaving Ty to come find him and give him a pep talk.
- The Ties That Bond
- Wes comes back to Heartland and winds up stealing Spartan while everyone is asleep, then proceeds to buy him out from under Amy.
- Even though Ty is terrified of returning to jail, he agrees to go back and steal Spartan with Amy.
- Full Circle
- Amy finds a letter from her mother, Marion, to a friend, Victor Whitetail, proving she had fallen in love with him after her husband Time had left.
- Ty and Kit break up after Ty has been ignoring her the entire time Amy was up in the mountains and Kit accuses him of leading her on for the entire relationship.
- In the mountains, Amy is able to reconnect with her deceased mother's spirit and thanks her for helping her reconnect with Spartan.
- Step by Step
- Jack chews out Tim for thinking of selling some of his land to Val Stanton.
- When he and Amy are alone in the mountains, Ty comes down with a bad fever from one too many nights in the freezing barn loft, with all the roads up to Jack's cabin closed due to snow.
- Peter nearly breaks up with Lou because she still hasn't told her family that they are dating and he thinks she is embarrassed to be seen with him. When Lou brings Peter home to meet Jack, Jack does not react well at all.
- Val reveals that she paid Caleb off to join the rodeo, further damaging her recently-improved relationship with Ashley. When Caleb returns, Ashley kicks him out (even though it was his trailer in the first place).
Season Three
- Miracle
- While we don't actually see it happening, Ty says that some of the horses from the trailer accident were so injured they had to be euthanized, and Ty starts wondering if he's truly cut out for becoming a vet, since he was relatively traumatized and upset by the incident.
- Jack and Tim have a huge argument because Tim used some of the money from Jack's loan to buy more cattle; this leads to Jack retrying to sell his property to Val, who agrees to "think about it".
- Ever since the trailer accident, Caesar has been so traumatized that he won't let anyone near him; this is a huge problem, given he's a current Olympic hopeful. Amy agrees to try treating Caesar, provided he can come to Heartland, but Caesar refuses to even go near his trailer.
- Ashley is still not willing to talk to her mother, even when Val comes to Maggie's, and says that what Val did was unforgivable, even though Val is still sick. She also says that if she never sees Caleb again, it will be too soon.
- Little Secrets
- A little girl, Taylor, and her mother Kate come to Heartland so that Amy can work with Taylor's horse, Trooper, who rushes Taylor the moment he is out of his trailer. It is only Ty's quick thinking by grabbing Taylor that prevents her from seriously injured (again, since she was recently in the hospital after a riding accident with Trooper).
- Even though Taylor is very young (only about ten), it seems that she might be abusing Trooper, including coming towards him with a large branch in the middle of the night because she "missed him" and using a riding crop on him to get him to gallop.
- Taylor's parents are separating, which is obviously very upsetting for Taylor and is possibly causing her problems with Trooper. The only time she's seemed truly happy on her entire Facebook wall was when she was in the hospital and her parents were together.
- While there is little to nothing wrong with Trooper, Taylor's problems are severe enough that Amy must break her promise to Taylor to tell Kate what happened and get Taylor some psychological help to deal with her parents' divorce. However, she is willing to continue to board Trooper while Taylor gets the help she needs.
- Man's Best Friend
- Jack and Lisa have a minor argument after his truck breaks down on their way to a friend's wedding (when Lisa had offered up her car, since the truck has been having mechanical issues lately), and then when he comforts her, he manages to get grease and oil all over her (white) outfit. They then have a much larger fight when Jack is pressured into buying a new truck before he was really ready to give up the old one (a gift from his first wife, Lyndy).
- Jack's entire family is (gently) pressuring him to give up his old truck, not realizing why it is so special to him, and eventually succeed in getting him to sell his old truck (which is now being scrapped for parts). When he goes to the fishing cabin to cool off after an argument, he falls asleep and winds up seeing a 1970s version of Lyndy, whom we know has been dead for some time now; we then see that his old truck is an early anniversary gift from Lyndy.
- Shortly before the dance, Amy and Ty have a fight because she feels like he never has time for her (he is acting cagey because he is nervous and taking dance lessons from Lou). She then threatens to not go to the dance with him because he lied the night before about going to bed early (during which time he was taking a dance lesson from Lou, who has promised not to tell Amy about the dance lessons).
- The Haunting of Hanley Barn
- While Badger and Tara seemed close in their last appearance, they haven't kept in touch, and Badger legitimately seems to not initially remember who Tara is.
- Jack reveals his reasons for treating Amy and Lou so differently; Amy reminds him of his (deceased) daughter Marion, while Lou reminds him of himself at her age, and he's desperately worried that one day she will leave and never come back.
- Badger ran away from his group home in order to visit his parents, only to find that they have moved without telling him or giving him their new address.
- After being stood up by Mallory twice in less than 24 hours, Jake tells Mallory he is done waiting for her.
- Glory Days:
- Kit's mare Daisy is going through a dangerous pregnancy throughout the episode, ultimately going through a breach birth and losing her foal (a stillbirth). The mare is unable to pass her foal naturally, and Scott has to medically intervene while Ty comforts Kit.
- While training for bulldogging, Tim repeatedly falls off his horse and takes out his frustration on no longer being as good of a bulldogger as he was during his twenty-years-ago glory days on Caleb, whom he is training.
- Daisy is so protective over her stillborn foal that she refuses to let Scott take the dead foal out of her stall, although Scott has the idea to bring an orphaned foal in for her to hopefully bond with and take in. She initially does not allow the orphan, Merlin, to nurse, to the point where Kit wants to bottle-feed him rather than risk him starving.
- While they are staying with Daisy and Merlin, Kit yells at Ty for their break-up, saying that she should have known he was lying about staying friends.
- Peter and Lou get into an argument about sharing an office at Heartland and her not paying Mallory for her work at the farm, with Peter ultimately deciding to continue working in Calgary rather than at Heartland itself.
- Growing Pains:
- Daisy has ultimately rejected Merlin as her foal, and so Merlin has to come stay at Heartland.
- Charlotte, the hen that had been escaping earlier in the episode, winds up being killed by a rogue cougar.
- Richard Chenoweth sues Lou for negligence (probably as revenge for her rejecting him earlier in the episode), saying that she knew there was a cougar on the loose and never warned him (a bald-faced lie).
- Broken Arrow: Amy projects her resentment at Ty for choosing to spend his last day at Heartland before leaving for veterinary school accompanying Scott on a flight to British Columbia to see a wounded horse, rather than spending quality time with her. She eventually realizes that she was wrong and arrives at the airport to await their arrival and reconcile with Ty, only to be informed that their plane has gone missing.
Season Four
- What Dreams May Become:
- Most of Nick's polo team horses are getting sick and starting to act up because they are being doped with ephedrine. While Scott isn't happy about it, he does ask Amy and Ty to butt out before the team drops him as their team vet.
- When Nick's coach forces him to re-dose Dusty during the halfway point of the match, Nick is nearly seriously injured when his horse flees the match, resulting in the match eventually getting called.
- Nick reveals that his marriage to Claire has ended because of his polo career.
- Near the end of the episode, Lou reveals that she hates living in Dubai, even though she loves Peter, and decides she would rather stay at Heartland than return to Dubai.
Season Fourteen
- Keep Me in Your Heart
- The reveal of Ty's sudden death from an unforeseen DVT (a severe blood clot) following the events of the previous season's finale, that wasn't even hinted at. Followed by a one year time-skip that shows the family has yet to recover from their grief.
