In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf is seen falling off the Bridge of Khazad-dûm to his supposed death. But he is later resurrected and brought back to finish his task of guiding Middle Earth to freedom in The Two Towers. When he meets back up with the Three Hunters: Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, he whistles very loudly (almost like a magical call of sorts) and a majestic, white horse appears. Gandalf calls this horse Shadowfax and says that he is "the lord of all horses." He also says that the horse has been his friend "through many dangers."

This is Shadowfax's introduction, but it is not the first time Gandalf rode the horse. When Saruman imprisoned Gandalf on top of Orthanc in Isengard, Gandalf was able to hypnotize a moth with an incantation so it would send word to the Eagles for help. Gandalf made his way to Rohan, where King Théoden offered Gandalf a horse so long as he left afterward (since he was suspicious of him). This was when Gandalf met Shadowfax, as he is the horse Gandalf chose. He then tamed the horse, rode to The Shire, and then made his way to Rivendell at a much greater speed than a normal horse. Gandalf and Shadowfax parted ways, and Shadowfax went back to Rohan.

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The next time Gandalf and Shadowfax met was when the Three Hunters and he needed transportation, and Gandalf called out for Shadowfax's return. Viewers can hear Legolas briefly explain a bit about what type of horse Shadowfax is and why he is able to run so quickly and carry so much weight. Legolas says, "that is one of the Mearas, unless my eyes are cheated by some spell." Legolas' awe lets the viewers know that this is no ordinary horse. When Gandalf and Shadowfax reunite in The Two Towers, they accompany one another for the remainder of the trilogy.

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The Mearas are wild horses that are stronger, faster, and more intelligent than any other horse. Shadowfax originally belonged to the King, but none of the Rohirrim could tame him, for he was too wild. It is said that Shadowfax has a silvery grey coat in the sunlight, but at night he is hardly visible—which is perhaps where his name comes from. What made Shadowfax "the lord of all horses" was his ability to comprehend human speech and his super-speed (which was faster than wind). In Tolkien's work, "fax" meant "mane," and therefore Shadowfax meant Shadow Mane.

King Théoden officially gifted Shadowfax to Gandalf sometime after his return as Gandalf the White, and because the two were inseparable after that, Gandalf became known as The White Rider. Before Gandalf's return as the White, Théoden was reluctant to give away Shadowfax. After all, the kingdom of Rohan was actually named because of their horses. Gandalf spent two days chasing Shadowfax (when he was still Gandalf the Grey) for twenty miles through the fields so that he could catch him and tame him. Gandalf probably chose this horse because he recognized that it was one of the Mearas, and he knew he needed to get to Rivendell quickly.

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Gandalf sacrificed the two days because the Mearas were so fast, and he was able to travel six hundred and twenty miles in only a few days. It is not seen on screen, but Gandalf was actually chased by the Nazgûl while riding Shadowfax the first time, but was able to go North to lead the Nazgûl away from Frodo and the Ring. Shadowfax was not only very strong (able to carry both Gandalf and Gimli over a great distance without stopping) and fast, but he was also said to be very courageous. Shadowfax, unlike other horses, could confront the Witch-King without fleeing. He was the only horse that could do this.

Gandalf and Shadowfax had been through enough together that when Gandalf sailed on the White Ship from the Grey Havens, Shadowfax went with him West to the Undying Lands. Shadowfax is from a long line of great horses, a descendant of Felaróf who was a descendant of Nahar. Like Shadowfax, Nahar's coat was white in the sunlight, but a shimmery silver at night with hooves of gold. Felaróf was also white and the first of the Mearas. Shadowfax's lineage is how the horse came to be so strong and intelligent.

The Mearas are said to be long-lived horses, but in real life, the New Zealand horse that played Shadowfax in The Lord of the Rings sadly passed away at the age of twenty-five in 2014. He was one of two horses that played Shadowfax.

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