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This opinion surprises me.
In Maine, back in 1979, I knew a lithe, extremely talented cowgirl (named Karen) who had a barrel-racing palomino named Buck. While the horse was standing still, she could swing up onto his saddle one-handed.
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A few of my friends are able to perform this trick, but there is completely different motion involved. In order for it to work, the horse cannot move forward at all. Typically, if they horse did move forward, it is not so much that the person would most likely misjudge the jump as it is that, no matter how light the person, the horse would be thrown off-balance. Arod is going to gallop right down a hill after the maneuver and, while Legolas is supposedly lighter due to his Elf-frame, I would think that it would still make it more difficult, especially with the compact Gimli already on his back.
And I cannot see how Orlando could have done that stunt himself unless he was attached to a harness. It is a very difficult stunt to perform without some sort of equipment aiding in lifting him onto the horse.
Actually, one flaw that irked me is that they obviously used two different horses to play Shadowfax. Look at the horse throughout
The Two Towers and you will see that there are two horses of very different appearances. As well as basic physical appearances, they also had very separate demeanors. While one was very docile around horses and the other frequently moved to bite them. I do not know whether, as an avid horseback rider, I just noticed it because I was paying special attention to the horses or whether it was generally very obvious. Did anyone else notice this?
On the topic of the horses, the horse that played Asfaloth was great. He was so beautiful, and he was a real stallion rather than a gelding. Actually, he looked just like a horse at the barn at which I ride.
Viggo Mortensen, in my opinion, did very, very well in the scene where the horse that played Brego knelt next to him like that and licked his face. Although I am sure the horse was a very sweet creature, accidents do happen. If the horse was off-balance, it may have kneeled on him, breaking ribs or worse, and when it was licking him, even the most well-meaning horse can accidentally catch you with his or her teeth. These guys really did a lot for the job.