"A Horse for Summer" was originally titled "Above the Bit," an equestrian term referring to a horse carrying its head too high so that it evades correct contact with the bit.
As the producers were scouting locations for the festival scene, the citizens of San Tan Valley, Arizona were eager to help. In addition to volunteering to set up actual vendor booths for the scene, the proprietors of the Queen Creek Olive Mill offered their restaurant and grounds for the scenes. This was especially touching as olives have a Biblical symbolism of love and charity, two themes of the film.
After Screenwriter, Ken Lemm, worked with singers Maggie Aschmeyer and Reilly Blum for their original song "Here to Stay" to be part of the church youth group scene, he was so impressed with the song that he incorporated some of the lyrics into the script. In the final script, Pastor Bob (Christopher Atkins) quotes the lyrics and uses them as part of his inspirational talk with the teens.
In the original screenplay, the character of the teenage niece who comes to live with the Walsh family was named "Marissa." As the story took shape, the character's name was changed to "Summer."
In the fall of 2012, screenwriter Ken Lemm worked with Nancy Criss to write the award winning dramatic short "And Then, Spring" about a teenage girl named Spring. When Ken originally wrote "A Horse for Summer" the troubled teen was named Marissa. The distributor suggested changing the character's name to Summer.
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