# LOTR & Prince of Persia horses??



## WildJessie (Oct 15, 2010)

For the longest time I have been trying to figure out what kind of breed Gandalf's horse is! What is he? Also what about Aragorn's horse, the dark bay not the chestnut, and Legolas's horse. Whate breeds are are they? Fro Gandalf's horse I want to say Andalusian.

Same for Prince of Persia, Jake Gyllanhaal's character takes his brother's horse which is a beautiful black horse. What breed is that horse? I want to say Friesian, but something tells me no. Maybe Andalusian??

Just curious about these horses's breeds.


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## Coyote (Oct 23, 2010)

* The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Training on a Grand Scale *

* By Stephanie Stephens *

Much to the delight of devoted and seemingly insatiable fans, _The Lord of the Rings_ trilogy is now two-thirds complete-on screen, anyway-with the latest release of _The Two Towers_. The movie is the middle chapter of director Peter Jackson's comprehensive adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy epic of hobbits, humans, wizards, dwarfs and elves battling evil forces in mythical Middle-Earth. The final installment, _The Return of the King_, hits theaters late next year. _The Two Towers_ picks up where the first film, _The Fellowship of the Ring_, left off, with the fellowship, chosen to destroy a ring of ultimate evil, going forth on separate adventures. The cast includes Elijah Wood, Sir Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen and Liv Tyler. The film grossed $26 million on its opening day alone, December 18.


Shooting the films in New Zealand took 18 months, with editing of all footage completed in three distinct segments. Horses play a major role in all three films. Most notable is probably the white horse identified as Shadowfax, the grand steed of wizard Gandalf, a magical creature who is partner to Gandalf, rather than a servant. Other stars include Aragorn's (Mortensen) horses Brego and Hasufel, the Hobbit's faithful pony Bill, elf princess Arwen's (Tyler) horse, the multitudes of war steeds of the Riders of Rohan, plus numerous very dark equines that are ridden by the evil Ringwraiths. Approximately 70 horses were trained at a North Island stable in Te Horo, where Texas native Dan Reynolds was in charge. His father was an animal trainer; Reynolds started riding when he was two, and performed in rodeos doing trick roping and riding. In the 1940's as a youngster, he did films with the likes of Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Robert Mitchum. He's trained horses for movies including _Dances With Wolves, Out of Africa, Ghost and the Darkness and Tall Tales_.
_The Two Towers_' stupendous battle representations required more than 200 horses, later transformed by computer via digital remastering, into thousands. Reynolds says most tricks (for him, anyway!) were "pretty simple," such as prodding a horse to enter a cave and then gallop away. One of the unique things about the battle and chase scenes in these movies was that unlike many films which film horses at a slow speed and then speed up the film to create the proper "gallop", these intricately choreographed rides were done at top speed and filmed in real time. Scenes were blocked and choreographed carefully, and practiced over and over, starting at the walk, moving to the trot and canter, until the movements were second nature and could easily be performed at full speed.
Optical illusions of the equine kind include using small or big ponies and horses to dwarf or exaggerate hobbits and wizards: think of it as a human to animal size ratio. Clydesdales, at 17 hands, depict battle steeds as well as Gandalf's cart horse: the latter animal also has a double, a little Welsh pony, who pulls an identical cart for scale shots. Frodo mounts up on a regular-sized horse, not a pony, to make him appear even smaller on screen. In addition, there was one horse who wasn't a horse. The Fellowship's steadfast pony Bill was, in one scene, played by two actors in a pony costume, as the cliff top film site was deemed too unsafe for "Rastus" the chestnut Quarter horse/Shetland pony mix who played Bill. The "panto-pony" as he was called, was brought too life by two experienced performers whose creation was nearly seamless.
When asked by a local New Zealand reporter about his training techniques, Reynolds was quick to respond that any methods using force or harm were verboten by him.
Several horse-savvy New Zealanders spent a year-and-a-half working on the film, some riding as doubles for the major stars. Te Horo three-day-event rider and trainer Jane Abbott was one, chosen to ride Florian, whose film name was Asfaloth; he was one of Tyler's on-screen mounts. The actress told reporters that although she likes looking at horses, she and they aren't a great match in a riding scenario.
Florian, a Spanish-bred stallion, was given to a thrilled Abbott at the movie's completion by an "anonymous" friend who apparently purchased him at a special auction. In addition to riding him, Abbott now stands the stallion for breeding; his good movement and temperament are key selling points, say local horse experts.
Though Tyler may not have felt completely comfortable on horseback, co-stars Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) and Orlando Bloom (Legolas) certainly did. In fact, on days off, they could often be found riding their four-legged co-stars around the New Zealand countryside. Aragorn's bay horse, known in character as Brego, was the faithful mount who finds him and brings him back to his companions after a battle with the evil orcs. Brego was played by a former FEI dressage horse, a warmblood stallion called Uraeus, and at the end of filming, Mortensen purchased his main film mount to keep as a friend and to continue to pursue his new passion for riding.
Another Spanish horse, the 16 year old Andalusian stallion Domero was the primary horse to play the famous Shadowfax, though for the galloping scenes he was replaced by a more Thoroughbred-y sort called Blanco. Domero was trained to work "at liberty" responding to off camera cues from Reynolds in order to produce his performance as an otherworldly steed of great character and intelligence.
McKellen, who plays Gandalf had ridden in films prior to the Rings trilogy, but he did not feel completely comfortable riding "Shadowfax" who in the books and films "spurns saddle and bridle" at any great speed sans tack. For those scenes, such as the triumphant charge in to Helms Deep, McKellen claimed to be "happy" to be replaced by riding double Basil Clapham.
Abbott told New Zealand media that most of the "regular" horses had to be made from the ground up into equine actors, since they were horses considered "rejects" by many, and horses were obtained without a big expenditure. These equines had to be desensitized, going about their business in the midst of scary smoke machines, boisterous crowds, huge machinery, clanking swords and a plethora of distractions that would frighten any otherwise sensible horse. Horses seemed to be calmer if they were introduced to new experiences in groups, rather than solo, Abbott reported.
New Zealand press were abuzz during production because of reports that some horses experienced cruelty at the hands of filmmakers. True, three horses did die of natural causes during filming (one of colic), but visitors to the set reported that the horses appeared very well taken care of.

Horsecity.com | Keeping the Horse World Connected




*All sorts of horses were used for the LOTR movies, but yes Shadowfax is an Andalusian. *


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## WildJessie (Oct 15, 2010)

Thanks for the detailed information. What about Legolas's horse?(He is my LOTR crush.=) )

And Prince of Persia?


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## Jacksmama (Jan 27, 2010)

I don't know about Prince of Persias horse, but I was lucky enough to see Domero at the Hoosier Horse Fair a few years ago. Every bit as gorgeous in person!


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## wakiya (Feb 7, 2009)

I'm fairly certain that Prince of Persia's horse was a Fresian... I just remember thinking... "wow that is not a horse you'd find in a desert"


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## MethowHorses25 (Mar 29, 2011)

All of those horses are sooo pretty (especially Gandalf's!!)! I want one!


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## dressagebelle (May 13, 2009)

Blanco was actually trained and is owned by a guy named Tony Royal and his wife. Blanco is a 15.2 hand Australian Andalusian gelding. They do training clinics and such with liberty training styles.


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## welshies rule (Feb 7, 2010)

> Florian, a Spanish-bred stallion, was given to a thrilled Abbott at the movie's completion by an "anonymous" friend who apparently purchased him at a special auction
> 
> Read more: http://www.horseforum.com/horse-breeds/lotr-prince-persia-horses-82424/#ixzz1INT5TfjR


That Annonymous friend was Viggo Mortensen. If your sad enough (like me ) to get the extended editions (UK?) and watch all of the behind the scenes it tells u on there xx


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## dressagebelle (May 13, 2009)

Didn't Viggo also buy up all the horses from Hidalgo too. Thats what I read somewhere, have no idea if its true though. They also had said that they used some 23 paints that were similar enough in looks, for all the different scenes of Hidalgo. Just curious, cause if he did thats awesome. Of course I wish I had enough money to just go buy a bunch of movie horses lol.


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## wakiya (Feb 7, 2009)

I know he bought a few, but the center for America's first horse has one. I'm still mad that they used Paints! Of all things, for that movie UGH!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## horsplay (Jan 25, 2011)

_The Horse is Good_ — (2004), ISBN, a photography book, partly shot during his work on the film _Hidalgo_, about horses as partners, teachers, and fellow travelers. Images from Morocco, South Dakota, Montana, California, Iceland, New Zealand, Denmark, Brazil, and Argentina. This book reflects Mortensen's fondness for horses. In fact, he bought Uraeus—the horse who played Brego, Aragorn's steed (Roheryn in the books) in _The Lord of the Rings_ movies—as well as TJ, one of the horses who played Hidalgo. He also purchased the stallion that played Arwen's horse, a grey Andalusian stallion named Florian, and gave it to the stunt woman, Jane Abbott, who rode the horse in place of Liv Tyler.

Reel Hoof Beats: The Equine Actor: PRINCE OF PERSIA THIS WEEKEND This blog says its a Friesian.


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## dressagebelle (May 13, 2009)

I will definitely have to check the book out. Love seeing photography like that.


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## Snowkicker (Dec 23, 2009)

wakiya said:


> I know he bought a few, but the center for America's first horse has one. I'm still mad that they used Paints! Of all things, for that movie UGH!
> _Posted via Mobile Device_



I totally had the same problem. I kept thinking his white face should be one big blister by now. His hooves would be a mess. There is no way he would survive the desert. They should have used a hardy little mustang, probably one without a sunburning white face. Just my opinion. I still loved watching the movie though.

And yeah a Dutch furry breed wouldn't be the horse of choice in persia either!


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## dressagebelle (May 13, 2009)

I didn't mind the use of a paint so much, I know that white faces don't always sunburn, some horses are more sensitive than others, I know one horse with a white face that sunburns I swear just minutes after being out in the sun, and two white appy's, not grey, so they do have pink skin, that don't sunburn at all. I do think that it really came down to the producers wanting a flashy colored horse that was so completely different from the Arabians in color as well as looks, so they happened to pick a rather flashy horse, not really caring about the "small" details like sunburned noses, or cracked brittle dry hooves ect.


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## Whisper22 (Jan 2, 2011)

horsplay said:


> _The Horse is Good_ — (2004), ISBN, a photography book, partly shot during his work on the film _Hidalgo_, about horses as partners, teachers, and fellow travelers. Images from Morocco, South Dakota, Montana, California, Iceland, New Zealand, Denmark, Brazil, and Argentina. This book reflects Mortensen's fondness for horses. In fact, he bought Uraeus—the horse who played Brego, Aragorn's steed (Roheryn in the books) in _The Lord of the Rings_ movies—as well as TJ, one of the horses who played Hidalgo. He also purchased the stallion that played Arwen's horse, a grey Andalusian stallion named Florian, and gave it to the stunt woman, Jane Abbott, who rode the horse in place of Liv Tyler.
> 
> Reel Hoof Beats: The Equine Actor: PRINCE OF PERSIA THIS WEEKEND This blog says its a Friesian.


Just a thought, a little off topic. Why does the blog compare the horse to Bucephalas? Is it supposed to be Bucephalas? I thought that was Alexander's horse.
*Will the Black Friesian Measure up to the amazing Bucephalas?*​


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## horsplay (Jan 25, 2011)

honestly no idea.... I didn't say it was an accurate blog, I was just looking for the breed and couldn't find it any where else.


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## wakiya (Feb 7, 2009)

dressagebelle said:


> I didn't mind the use of a paint so much, I know that white faces don't always sunburn, some horses are more sensitive than others, I know one horse with a white face that sunburns I swear just minutes after being out in the sun, and two white appy's, not grey, so they do have pink skin, that don't sunburn at all. I do think that it really came down to the producers wanting a flashy colored horse that was so completely different from the Arabians in color as well as looks, so they happened to pick a rather flashy horse, not really caring about the "small" details like sunburned noses, or cracked brittle dry hooves ect.


Well, what bothered me about it was that it was supposed to be about SPANISH mustangs, a very very rare breed. John Fusco, the writer, has several of these horses, one of the registries had real Spanish Mustangs (Colonial Spanish Horses) that actually both looked like and were related to Hidalgo try out yet nothing. That and the fact that almost NO ONE who sees Hidalgo knows by the end the difference between a Spanish Mustang and a BLM. They did have that tiny blurb about the Kiamichi/Blackjack Mountain horses, but that didn't EXPLAIN that those horses are privately owned purebreds!

And as for different than Arabs, they are one of the very very few breeds without Arabian blood in it at all.

Rant over. I like the movie, but I can't watch it anymore I just keep yelling. There was a really nice special feature about Spanish Mustangs, but you have to watch it on the computer which is stupid, but it's on youtube now...


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## dressagebelle (May 13, 2009)

Its been a while since I've seen the movie lol, I was even going to make a comment about a mustang being hardier, I'd totally forgotten the the horse was SUPPOSED to be a spanish mustang, and not a paint horse. Very interesting information.


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## wild horses (Feb 11, 2011)

LOL i was lucky enough to ride some of the ex LOTR horses, because most of them ended up as trekking horses, i ended up riding 1 in the south island of new zealand.

Apparntly they used a whole lot of ex race horses, trotters etc as the non other horse to fill out the scenses, especially the black riders on the 1st moivie im prety sure were all just off the track


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## wakiya (Feb 7, 2009)

wild horses said:


> LOL i was lucky enough to ride some of the ex LOTR horses, because most of them ended up as trekking horses, i ended up riding 1 in the south island of new zealand.
> 
> Apparntly they used a whole lot of ex race horses, trotters etc as the non other horse to fill out the scenses, especially the black riders on the 1st moivie im prety sure were all just off the track


That is awesome!


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## WildJessie (Oct 15, 2010)

Thanks for the replies! I just like watching Hidalgo because of the horses.=) Sometimes I only watch the horse parts.lol. I also love Friesians, and knowing thats kind of horse(possibly) in Prince of Persia was awesome(also the one of the princes was totally cute.lol.)


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## vikki92 (Dec 18, 2010)

when I watch horse movie i dont look at the all things that are wrong, i watch horse movies becasue it has horses in it!  a horse is a horses i love them all the same!  I think i must have like every horse movie ever made! lol


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## noddy (Apr 1, 2010)

WildJessie said:


> Thanks for the detailed information. What about Legolas's horse?(He is my LOTR crush.=) )
> 
> And Prince of Persia?


Leggy's horse would have been another NZTB or STB. He probably ended up a Rohan or Gondor extra in RoTK as well.

I know Florian was an Andy, and I'm pretty sure the extended DVDs said both Shadowfax horses were Lippis.

The Prince's horse is a Friesian, and the Bucephalus comment was probably a reference to the Friesian(s?) who played Bucephalus in Colin Farrell's Alexander movie.


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