We all know Hitch is a Sheriff which I think is a little bit like Shining Armor being Captain of the Royal Guard, also going by Hitch's bio on Hasbro's site and the My Little Pony Hitch Trailblazer Crystal Adventure, he's an animal lover like Fluttershy, so Hitch is half Shining Armor and half Fluttershy.

Also I find it really funny even why James Marsden is playing a CGI animal he's still a character who talks to animals.