White Stallion: Difference between revisions

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Back in the days before any kind of engines existed, horses provided man's primary method of transportation (that is, if you don't count walking). This, of course, is reflected in Hollywoodland portrayals of period pieces such as [[Medieval European Fantasy|Medieval European Fantasies]] or works that take place in [[The Wild West]].

Given the importance of cavalry in the history of some of the world's greatest empires, horses were often a sign of status; poor people could not afford a horse. Moreover, the ''color'' of the steed's hair coat serves to emphasize one character who is in a higher standing than the rest: the [[White Stallion]] is a type of [[Cool Horse]] which serves as a ride for a character usually in a position of leadership or seniority. Chances are, if the work has a large group of characters who routinely ride horseback, only ''one'' of them will be riding a white horse, usually the [[Supporting Leader]], the [[Knight in Shining Armor]], or [[The Obi-Wan]], and of course royalty, especially [[Knight in Shining Armour|the prince]].

Given the importance of cavalry in the history of some of the world's greatest empires, horses were often a sign of status; poor people could not afford a horse. Moreover, the ''color'' of the steed's hair coat serves to emphasize one character who is in a higher standing than the rest: the '''White Stallion''' is a type of [[Cool Horse]] which serves as a ride for a character usually in a position of leadership or seniority. Chances are, if the work has a large group of characters who routinely ride horseback, only ''one'' of them will be riding a white horse, usually the [[Supporting Leader]], the [[Knight in Shining Armor]], or [[The Obi-Wan]], and of course royalty, especially [[Knight in Shining Armour|the prince]].

This is [[Older Than Feudalism]], going back to ''[[The Bible]]''. Several Eurasian religions and mythologies have associated white horses with the sun, fertility, divinity and other such themes, so they are often the symbol of [[The Messiah]] or [[The Chosen One]]. [[Light Is Good]] and all that. The rider might be exhibiting [[Horseback Heroism]].

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* In the 2010 version of ''[[Robin Hood (2010 film)|Robin Hood]]'', Robin acquires a white horse early on and rides it around for the remainder of the movie. [[Justified]] in that the horse once belonged to King Richard.

* In ''[[The Last Samurai]]'', Katsumoto rides a beautiful pure white horse.

* In the 2005 film version of ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]: [[The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]]'', Peter Pevensie, aka High King Peter, rides a white ~~horse-- a~~ ''unicorn'' at that. It's the only white equine seen at the battle of Beruna.

* In the 2005 film version of ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]: [[The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]]'', Peter Pevensie, aka High King Peter, rides a white horse—a ''unicorn'' at that. It's the only white equine seen at the battle of Beruna.

* The eponymous king of ''[[Henry V]]'' rides a white horse in the 1989 Branagh film. The horse [[Dirt Forcefield|somehow manages to stay sparkly white]] while the human cast spends much of their time covered in mud and blood.

* Guinevere, Lady of Leonesse snd Queen of Camelot, in [[First Knight]] is the only rider whose horse is white. Lancelot rides her horse on the way to rescue her.

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** In the films we see a few other characters riding horses with white hair coats, such as King Theoden, who plays the trope straight as he leads his army into battle; but also elves, like Arwen and Legolas. In Theoden and Legolas' case, however, their steeds are noticeably not true white horses.

* In [[Robert E. Howard]]'s ''The Hours of the Dragon'', [[Conan the Barbarian]] is given a white horse to make his escape.

* Played with in [[Mercedes Lackey]]'s [[Heralds of Valdemar|Valdemar]] stories. The Heralds ride what appear to be magnificent pure-white horses, but these are actually ~~Companions -- guardian~~ spirits in the form of a horse. They are also [[Mindlink Mates]] with their Heralds and have human-level intelligence and psychic powers.

* Played with in [[Mercedes Lackey]]'s [[Heralds of Valdemar|Valdemar]] stories. The Heralds ride what appear to be magnificent pure-white horses, but these are actually Companions—guardian spirits in the form of a horse. They are also [[Mindlink Mates]] with their Heralds and have human-level intelligence and psychic powers.

** Their hair stays white ''even if you attempt to dye it'' for camouflage or disguise. This little oddity is caused by large amounts of magical power (the guardian spirit itself, in this case) and shared with very powerful mages.

* [[Cool Horse|Athansor]] in Mark Helprin's ''Winter's Tale''. {{spoiler|He's implied to be some sort of [[Our Angels Are Different|angel in equine form]].}}

* The grey-white [[Cool Horse~~|Cool Horses~~]] in Mary H. Herbert's ''Winged Magic''{{spoiler|, which turn out to be magically disguised [[Sapient Steed|Hunnuli]]}}.

* The grey-white [[Cool Horse]]s in Mary H. Herbert's ''Winged Magic''{{spoiler|, which turn out to be magically disguised [[Sapient Steed|Hunnuli]]}}.

* In ''[[Beverly Cleary|Emily's Runaway Imagination]]'', Emily's family has a white(-ish) work horse whose coat Emily tries to bleach bright white with Clorox so her cousin visiting from the city will be impressed.

* In the [[Chronicles of the Kencyrath]] series by P.C. Hodgell, heroine Jame has two white mounts. Bel-tairi is a Whinno-hir, an intelligent, nigh-immortal beast, dainty of stature, sure-footed and dependable; she's Jame's mount for regular travel. Death's-head, however, is what Jame rides into battle; he is a white rathorn, basically an armored, carnivorous unicorn. Both are quite symbolic.