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But why would the quality of the horses have decreased?
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Well, the breeding stock of these Mearas probably started out relatively small, a few herds perhaps. These horses bred together, and then they probably peaked, perhaps around Felaróf's time, and maybe the horses didn't get better, and while they were still Mearas, they were not as mighty as the horses of old. These would be like Snowmane. Then these horses probably interbred with horses of lesser quality, which would still be of high blood, but not completely Mearas (Maybe where you get horses like Firefoot and Windfola?). Shadowfax must have received all the recessive genes from the mighty horses of old and would have been like them.
Compare it to the Dúnedain: their race was lessened because those of the line of Isildur married with those of lesser lineage, which resulted in shorter lifespan, which was why "the dignity of the kings of old was renewed" in Aragorn: in this respect Aragorn is comparable to Shadowfax. Both were the mightiest of their line for a very long time.