back when this was out, redford mentioned some guy who taught him a lot about horses. he said the guy is a real cowboy, blah blah and praised him a lot.
Buck Brannaman. He is the closest thing to a horse whisperer as I've ever seen. He just uses actual common sense when it comes to the animals, and it works out beautifully. If you have Netflix or showtime on demand, rent/watch "Buck" it's all about the man and it truly does go to show that there are gifted people out there. None of that Pirelli "natural horsemanship" nonsense.
Buck Brannaman is the real life man that Redford used as advisor to the art of "horse whisperering". His picture is seen in the film among the family photographs. On the Blu-ray edition "Extras" (slim as they are) there is a short piece featuring Buck that was used a part of the film's original release promotion. Also there is a documentary recently released titled "BUCK" (with Redford making a short appearance) that gives the background of a real "horse whisperer". Interesting this documentary was partially produced by Redford's Sundance film program.