Horses in Lord of the Rings

Other horses in the Lord of the Rings books and movies, plus information on the selection, training and care of the equine movie stars.

Celfenniel's Web: The Trip to Middle Earth - Description of a November 2003 trip to Hobbiton and other Lord of the Rings film sites includes a trip to Waikanae, the main stables. Photographs of Jane Abbott and Florian, who was Asfaloth in the Fellowship of the Ring, and of "Kenny" who played Hasufel.

Eowyn of the Rohirrim: Horses - Facts and trivia about the Lord of the Rings horses, including a brief history of the Mearas and list of the equine actors.

Horses of Middle-earth - Biographies of each of the horses and ponies in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books, from Stybba and Fatty Lumpkin to Windfola and Roheryn. Illustrated with photographs from the films. Brego is absent, as he was not in the books. Part of the Thain's Book, an online encyclopedia of Middle Earth.

Horsewyse: Lord of the Rings Horses - Wonderful article describes selection and training of the horses in the Fellowship of the Ring, including Asfaloth, the horses of the Black Riders (Ring Wraiths), and Bill the Pony. It describes the challenge Liv Tyler faced in her scenes with Asfaloth: "Horses and I don't go so well together. I think they are the most beautiful animals...I just don't like being on them that much."

Lights, Camera, Action... - Extensive and detailed article about the Lord of the Rings' equine performers and their trainers, the facilities and the training process, including desensitising the horses to noise and crowds. Features several photographs of the horses in training. From NZ Horse and Pony, July 4, 2000.

Lord of the Rings - Shadowfax Page - Excerpts the page from The Two Towers book in which Shadowfax comes to Gandolf at the edge of Fangorn Forest, followed by Arod and Hasufel. Several photographs of the movie Shadowfax.

Lord of the Rings Horse Pictures - Three young women have posted substantial galleries of their favorite horse screenshots and other photographs from Lord of the Rings films, from Asfaloth to Snowmane. Note that some of the photographs labeled "Brego" are actually of the movie's chestnut Hasufel.

Lord of the Rings Horses: Fan Art - Illustrations by Sheri Cook depicts Frodo's "Flight to the Ford" from The Fellowship of the Ring, in which he rides Glorfindel's horse Asfaloth, chased by the Nazgul. Cook also shares drawings of Shadowfax, Bill the Pony, and a horse of Rohan with leather faceplate.

Aragorn and Eowyn with their horses of Rohan

Lord of the Rings Horses: The Two Towers - In this extensive interview for Horsewyse, horse trainer Grahame Ware Jr. describes the challenges of filming the bridle-less Shadowfax, the horses of Rohan, and the scene in which Brego lies down so that Aragorn can mount. "I worked with Ian McKellen, who I found to be very obliging and good to work with. He's not a 'horse person' as such but he had a lot of respect for the horses."

Movie Horses New Zealand - Site for the New Zealand stables where several horses from The Lord of the Rings now reside. Personnel include Jane Abbott, horse trainer and Liv Tyler's stunt double in Lord of the Rings. Horses at the stable who are featured on the site include Florian (who played Asfaloth), Gandalf's cart horse "Clydee," and several others who carried the Black Riders and/or played horses of Rohan.

Nao's memories - Photographs taken by a visitor to the Cavallo ranch in New Zealand, where about 50 of the horses used in The Lord of the Rings were stabled and trained. My best guess is that the white Andalusian shown in dressage (including airs above the ground) is Florian, who played Asfaloth, though it could be his double. A few more pictures from the same day.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Training on a Grand Scale - Details about the breeds and individual horses used in the Lord of the Rings films to play Shadowfax, Brego, Asfaloth, and other equine roles, description of training techniques. Also explains how equine "size doubles" were used to imply scale differences between the hobbit actors and the rest of the cast. From HorseCity.com, January 2003.

Visiting Shadowfax - Lovely watercolor shows Shadowfax in the stable being visited by Pippin and Beregond. By Anke Eissmann. For more of her work, see anke.edoras-art.de.

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Photo Gallery - Hasufel

Hasufel was the horse given to Aragorn by Eomer at their first meeting. In the books, Aragorn continued to ride Hasufel through the rest of The Two Towers and Return of the King. Hasufel even stayed with Aragorn as he traveled the paths of the dead.

In the films, Hasufel was killed in The Two Towers during the warg attack that occurred on the way to Helm's Deep. Brego rescued the injured Aragorn and took Hasufel's place as Aragorn's mount.

Aragorn on Hasufel (499x700, 599x840)	Aragorn & Hasufel (482x700)	Aragorn with Hasufel (700x468, 900x602)
Aragorn & Eowyn on the march (462x280)

Photo Gallery - Horses of Rohan

Hasufel, Arod & Shadowfax
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Horses of Rohan Desktop
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Ready for battle
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Photo Gallery - Horses of the Ringwraiths

Ringwraiths Desktop
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Photo Gallery - Other Lord of the Rings Horses

Bill the Pony
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Photo Gallery - Shadowfax

Shadowfax was one of the Mearas, the legendary horses of Rohan. He was ridden bareback and bridle-less by the wizard Gandalf.

Shadowfax (192x259)	Shadowfax stirrups (500x394)	Shadowfax wallpaper (700x560, 1280x1024)
Approaching Minas Tirith (700x359, 1000x513)

Photo Gallery - Snowmane

Snowmane, the steed of King Theoden of Rohan, was one of the Mearas. Though brave and reliable in battle, he inadvertently contributed to Theoden's death when he fell on his master in the battle of the Pelennor fields.

King Theoden on Snowmane
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Horses in Lord of the Rings