Who was the old man?

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Kitanna

However, maybe the old man was a vision of Gandalf sent by someone else. Who? I can't say. But it reads as a sort of foreshadowing that Gandalf is about to return and there is this hatted old man who may have been a vision to the hunters of what was to come. The problem with this theory is who would have had the power to show the three hunters that Gandalf was abroad in the land.

Originally Posted by The Might

No, but actually now Kitanna is making a great argument.

Here is my idea after reading her post - Galadriel, who did indeed know of Gandalf's return or the wizard himself managed to implant this thought into the minds of the Three Hunters hoping for them to realise that Gandalf had returned. The horses leaving was only a coincidence caused by Shadowfax' arrival.

While an interesting idea, no, I don't actually find it much plausible. The disappearance of the horses WAS actually a deed of the old man, whoever it was, or it was at least connected to his presence. The horses met Shadowfax only a bit LATER (and likely, he saved them from fleeing wildly into the plains). And in either case, what link would there be between Shadowfax over there and the projection of Gandalf by the fire? Actually, the presence of Shadowfax (well, "presence" - he was pretty far away) may have been a reason for the old man (as Saruman) to go away before some "White Rider" comes...

I would still trust Gandalf's wisdom and think that the old man was Saruman, whether in person or just a "projection".