Ah, that makes more sense. Are there videos of him in his prime?
Thanks, I was all, I hope not, but ??? 
Thanks for that bit of clarity!
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Hereās a vid of him from his American tour in 2008, aged 26.
ETA: Video appears to have been disabled.
Playing devilās advocate here, but does age make the horse being unsound more acceptable? Is it ok to ride a lame horse and say, āwell, heās oldā as a justification?
Iām not saying that anyone is saying this, but they were just thoughts that crossed my mind.
IMHO, if I have a horse of any age that is unsound and that is clearly visible, then I wouldnāt be riding said horse. If I have an old horse that is creaky, has already proven himself, and owes me absolutely nothing, I simply donāt feel the need to trot him out for show.
Now, opinions may vary on this and I understand that. In addition to that, I know that some older horses are simply difficult to retire. They may be more sane in their older ages being ridden. We all have our thresholds on what level of soundness we accept too.
A few different points and variables to consider here. I respect horses still āout there and doing itā well into older age, donāt get me wrong.
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Devilās devilās advocateā¦sometimes keeping the creaky oldsters moving helps keep their joints lubricated and thus more comfortable. I might not begrudge one final hurrah to a horse that seems to enjoy it. If this horse was being actively campaigned around I would be more outraged.
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This is basically how I feel.
I do like bringing up various points for discussion and thought, but my gut instinct was the above.
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