How old is too old?

["Sherman O'Donnell" <shermano@prodigy.net>]

We bought a 16-year old Morgan 5 years ago.  This past March, when he was
21, he placed 22 out of 48 in his first endurance ride.  It didn't seem to
affect him adversely, but he does take special care to keep in good shape.
Our 2 Morgans are kept in a sand lot with a large round bale of hay, free
choice.  The old guy gets a 48 oz cup of manna senior twice a day along with
some sweet feed and a carrot or two.  It is hard to keep weight on him. We
may try adding some oil to his diet.
   He is very attentive to what is going on around him. I think his eyes are
still good, because he will follow with his eyes, our neighbor's dog, which
is walking in their yard about 800 feet away.  His preferred gait is always
one gear faster than you want to go, but his age is definitely getting in
the way.  I'm glad to see he still has the spirit for it, even if he can't
go on endlessly.

   Sherman, in the north Florida backwoods community of Gainesville



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