As of late? Like what?
Minish Cap? The doesn't take you anywhere, it just shrinks you. Twilight Princess? You carry her around. Phantom Hourglass? That's not the name of your boat.
And no, the original Zelda wasn't "The Recorder" because it was the original Zelda. Who's going to put a subtitle on that?
And as for "Epona the Magic Horse," I assume you're talking about "Ocarina of Time," which, last I checked, was a mode of transportation.
The only two Zelda games that have used your mode of transportation in the title of the game were "Ocarina of Time" and "Wind Waker," and those items did a lot more than just get you from place to place.
"Zelda games of late" are not "focusing on your mode of transportation." So Link's not walking around an overworld on foot anymore. It's not like 3D Zelda games have been particularly groundbreaking in that respect. Running across Hyrule on foot in Ocarina of Time was just as boring as sailing across the ocean in Wind Waker. The only difference? You had to push your stick forward.
Phantom Hourglass's boating was fun. You set your course and let your boat go, while you can concentrate on killing enemies. It was a lot more elegant than trying to steer a boat while trying to fire a cannon at the same time.