Howard McLaughlin

Howard Mclaughlin is a character that only appears in the 2006 remake of My Friend Flicka and the unofficial son of Rob and Nell Mclaughlin, brother of Katy and Ken and boyfriend of Miranda Koop. He is portrayed by Ryan Kwanten.

History
Katherine "Katy" McLaughlin (Alison Lohman) has big dreams of administering her father's Wyoming horse ranch one day, but her father, Rob (Tim McGraw), has other plans. He is currently grooming her older brother, Howard (Ryan Kwanten), to take over the ranch and sends Katy away to an exclusive private school where she constantly feels like a misfit. Being a similar, independent spirit to Katy, Rob has a hard time understanding his daughter as she continually defies his authority to follow her own path. When she gets home Howard along with his parents go out to greet his sister. They give each other a big hug and while they are walking to the house Katy gives him the bandana Miranda gave to her to give to him. He then asks her about her essay and she says her dad is going to kill her, He asks if it's that bad and she says worse.



Norbert is at the farm the next day and Rob trys to sell him a young horse, Norbert says no cuse he douse not need any mor horses unless they happen to have mustangs and then comments "more loco the better". After a brife confertation Norbert leavs. Rob then tells Howard to find Katy to muck the stalls. Once Rob has walked away Howard tells his mother that Katy is gone and must have talken Yanke (one of their quarter horses) out for a run.

Later on, Flicka is captured during a roundup. Nell hears that Rob is not thair, She is asked if it was something Katy did and Howard says yes, she then asks how bad abd to give her a catagory and Howard responds by saying he dous not think Rob made a catagory for this one. Rob says that nobody go nears the mustang without his permission. While they are sitting down to dinner Rob asks Nell how much the vet bill costs while everyone trys to avoid telling him, Nell ends up haveing to tell him and he becomes fustrated and rants about how when his father owned the ranch the horses were fine and took care of them selfs, Katy then shouts to him to not call Norbert to take Flicka away.

2 days afterwords Howard and Katy drive off to a succluded acer of the ranch to do some work one the fence their. Howard tells Katy that they could get her a cheirot but she says that it would't be the same. She then says that aslong he is their it would be his, he says that it wont be a probblum because he won't be their. She says that she means on the ranch but he tells her that he knows what she means. He then tells her that he tryed the ranch but it just was not working and he was going to talk the scolership to B.U. He then asks her if she would tell him, she asks why would he want to leave Wyoming and he said burger joints whar you don't have to drive up throu the window but she says that he needs him to run the ranch. He then jokingly tells her that Rob dous not need him and that she is the one that he needs and that their father just dous not relize it yet.

Two days later Rob, Howard and Katy drive to give one of their quarter horses to the Koop family. While thair Howard gives the horse to Maranda. She comments on the bandana that she gave to Katy to give to to him, Katy then leaves to give the tow of them some privasy. Maranda asks if howard told his parents that he wants to take the scoolershipe and he tells her that he is waiting for the right time, she than says when is their ever going to be a right time and asks why he dous not tell them the truth. Howard says it's easier said then done but she mocks him by clucking like a chicken at him and he then throws a rag at her. He confides in her that he feels like his feet are running but he is not moveing, She then tells him that she thinks that everybody writes a story in their heads that evantuly becomes their life and that if you don't write it your self then somebody else writes it for them. He then says that it won't happen in his story, she then asks him if she is in her story. He leans in to kiss her but a worker comes in and they stope for a brife time and once he leves the resume kissing.

While driveing home Howard finds out that his father is planning on selling the ranch while Katy exprss her disbelife that he would think of such a thing. Howard asks his father about it and Rob says he was just talking to the man. Howard then says to his father that it cant hert to explor all his options. When they get home Rob and Katy walk in without talking to each other or Nell then Howard walks in and tells her that it was a prstigous day and gives her a kiss while he walks away she says that she dous not even want to know. Later that night Katy comes into his room and asks him what happed to all his movie posters and he answers that he is moveing into his zen phase. They talk about their dad and agree that he never listens to eather of them. She the exprass sadness that he is going away but he reassurs her that he is changing time zones not solar systems but she says that to him that once he is gone he will never come back.

Katy starts trainging Flicka at night and one one night Katy gets bucked off of the mare while Gus and Jack go to get the mustang Rob Nell and Howard go to see if Katy is hurt, Katy and Rob then argue about Katy and Flicka's relationshipe. Rob then sells Flicka to the rodeo, leaving Katy devastated. Both Nell and Howard are furious at Rob about making the decision without including them. Seeing his sister heartbroken over losing her beloved horse, Howard finally stands up to his father and says that he does not want the ranch and that he wants to take the scolershipe. His mother Nell asks why he did not tell them that before and he says that its because running the ranch is what they wanted him to do, he then tells them that Katy wants the ranch and that he wants no part of it. The family becomes even more divided when Rob refuses to take Flicka back. Howard and Nell refuse to help Rob with the ranch.

While their parents are out one day Howard convinces his sister to go swimming with her and while thay are their Maranda comes and jumps in with them and they swim play with each other. Maranda tells Katy that she saw Flicka at the rodeo while practicing barral raceing and she tells Katy that she has never in her entire life been scard of horses but the horses she was with were dangerous and that you would realy need to work hard to mack horses that angry. Katy then concokts a plane to have Howard enter the race with her as his partner so that she can win the race and buy Flicka back with the prize money despite Howard's protests that this plan is to risky and dangorus. Maranda says that she is in and they get Howard to (reluctinty) be in on the plane and they jokingly pushe him back into the lake they were swimmming in.

At the rodeo, Howard and Katy (disguised as a cowboy) enter the competition that Flicka is being used in, hoping to get the horse back. Not realizing who she is at first, the frightened mare runs from Katy until the girl calls her name. Rob, however, catches onto his daughter's plan and tries to intervene. Katy freezes at the sight of her father, but Howard boosts his sister onto the mare's back and lets the two escape. Back at the rodeo, the family reconciles and Howard says that she would go home, his mother tells him not in the mountains in the dark but he says that he is talking about Flicka and that the mustang will bring Katy home and that their mountains are her home to. They begin searching for Katy as a fierce thunderstorm moves in. As they near the ranch, Katy and Flicka are attacked by a mountain lion. Rob finds the two and brings a delirious Katy back to the house. As her fever spikes dangerously high, Katy calls for Flicka as Nell tends to her. Rob thinks Flicka is mortally wounded and believes she should be put down, though Jack and Gus disagree. While he is getting ready to leave Howard tells his father that he is sorry and that he scrowed everything up but Rob tells him that he is a good man.

Katy's fever breaks and over the next couple of days, she begins to recover. When Katy wakes from the fever, she and Rob reconcile and he takes her to see Flicka, whom Katy is shocked to see is alive. Rob tells Katy that when she is all better he wants her to talk care of Flicka, Katy is confused because she was supposed to write her essay but Nell and Howard tell her that her father typed the essay and when she asks what the headmaster said thay said what anyone says to Rob "Yes sir". Rob also apologizes to Howard and gives his son his blessing. Thrilled, Howard begins preparing for college. As a family, they decide to not sell the ranch, making it both a working ranch and a refuge for wild mustangs.