Is "horse whispering" real?

The idea of the "horse whisperer" who has magical control over horses may date back to the Celts. In the 19th century the Secret Society of the Horseman's Word claimed to have a "secret word" that would give you power over horses. More likely, they were closely guarding their training secrets.

These days, "horse whisperer" is often used to refer to a talented trainer who appears to have better control over horses without doing anything different (and who never uses harsh methods). More likely, it has to do with subtle aspects of body language than "magic" - but controlling a horse with body language alone is possible and quite a lot of people aspire to learn the knack.