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Here at Black Forest Shires & Gypsy Horses,
we take great pride in the fact that we are America's largest importers and
breeders of the Gypsy Horse. This honor was not simply handed to us, but
was earned through years of providing the finest quality horses at fair prices.
By reading this page, you've taken the first step in in
obtaining a fine gypsy horse of your own. Many of your
questions will be answered here - and if you still have
others, then please give us a call or write. We are
always happy to help.
How To
Buy A Horse From BFSGH
The process could not
be easier. Simply pick up the phone and give us a
call. You can find our phone numbers on the
contact
page of this website. We have a comprehensive
sales contract which we will get out to you right away for
your review. You can even put a deposit on the horse
of your choice right over the phone and lock-in your
commitment so no-one else buys her out from under you.
Want to know more, read on further.
About
Our Guarantee
Over the years, we have
worked to create a buying process that is simple and secure
for our clients. Our guarantee is second-to-none, and
rarely found in the horse industry. Every horse we
sell is guaranteed for a full 30 days from the time you
receive it. If you're not satisfied for any reason,
simply send it back for a full refund of your purchase
price. This guarantee is the foundation of all we do.
Many people ask how we can do that. Our answer is
simple - "we know a quality horse, and are confident that
every animal we sell is indeed a quality horse. Now,
we cannot absolutely guarantee that the horse you choose
will fit your needs perfectly, but we still know she is a
quality animal, and even if she wasn't right for you, she
will be right for another client. When we choose
horses to offer to our clients, we choose the horse for
ourselves first. We stand by our creed that we won't
offer for sale a horse which we wouldn't keep on our own
farm. So to put it simply, we won't sell a horse that
isn't good enough for us to keep.
This guarantee also applies to horses we sell on
consignment. We offer many consignment horses
throughout the year, and these horses come with the same
guarantee as any others. We have inspected them, and
they meet our criteria.
How We
Select Horses
The horses we offer are
ones which we have
personally and independently reviewed. Most are
our horses, some belong to gypsy breeders overseas, and some
are consignments from our USA clients. We are the
unbiased opinion on horses that are currently available, and
we only accept horses that meet our approval. We
personally spend hours sorting thru horses, so that we bring
over only the top horses reviewed. The majority of
horses on this site are from gypsy families who have been
breeding these horses for generations. Most of these
horses are not "for sale" but are private stock of some of
the best breeders in the world, and they have allowed us to
buy them. Because of our connections with the true
gypsies, we can offer you exclusives on these cream of the
crop horses. You will not see these horses offered
through any other source. BFSGH is the most
experienced North American importer of the gypsy horse/cob/vanner
IN THE WORLD. Hundreds of satisfied clients
can't be wrong. Our reputation is the best in the
business. Most other gypsy horse/cob/vanner "import
businesses" have purchased at least one (sometimes
MOST) of their horses from BFSGH, a fact that they usually
don't like to let people know! BFSGH had been involved
in breeding, importing, showing, and judging similar types
of horses for many years before most American Gypsy Horse
farms even existed. It's this experience that has put
us where we are today, and why we say, "The Breed Starts
Here".
BFSGH does NOT accept "picture
consignments" from the USA or overseas. If there is a
horse that we think has potential overseas, we DO NOT offer
it for sale until we have
personally inspected
that horse. EVERY horse on this site has been touched
handled and photographed by us, not by some distant owner
somewhere in a foreign country that sends pictures of his or
her horse to someone in the USA with a web site. If
you see a picture on this site, we took it, we inspected,
and we handled that horse! The text with each horse is
written by Christine or Jeff, as they have met each horse
and discussed it's pros and cons with it's breeder/owner.
Don't confuse our process with that of the "picture
importers" that get emailed pictures from overseas and post
them on their web sites. We have seen and
inspected every one of these horses, and WE take the
pictures only after APPROVING the horse. Many horses
that we see each year are NOT approved, as we are very
discriminating.
Why Our
Prices Are Among The Best
Why are our prices so much
better than other imported horses you may find? We BUY and
FLY in volume! Most importers just buy and fly 3 or 4 horses at a
time, we never import less than 20 at a time. When we buy from a
breeder, we know the RIGHT price to pay. Our relationships with
our Gypsy breeders goes far beyond that of being a mere customer.
We work together with a small, select group of gypsy families who have
opened their doors and invited us into their families. We work
together as a team to maintain a relationship which is good for each
other. We are always able to work out package deals as we take
dozens and dozens of horses per year from each of our breeders!
We also do nearly all of our own work in the fields from handling for
vets, to transport on both sides of "the pond", grooming, driving,
riding, and photographs, and web design! There aren't dozens of
middle-men in every transaction, just BFSGH and our staff handling
everything. When we have a flight come into the USA, we do the
hauling, and are often times part of our own grooms crew on the
aircraft. We even do much of our own vetting and farrier work, as
Jeff is a certified farrier, and Christine and Jeff are both certified
equine reproduction specialists! All of these things SAVE YOU
MONEY, and get you the absolute best price on some of the best quality
gypsy cobs that have ever walked the planet! We don't have to add
all these little details onto your bill, as we have the process fully
streamlined like a well-oiled machine, and don't waste YOUR money!
Don't make the mistake of thinking a horse is better because it's
$10-20,000 more expensive than a horse that looks BETTER on our site.
We keep costs and prices down, so you can buy more horses for the money!
Remember, some of the most sought after and show-winning gypsy cobs (or
"Vanners") in the USA have come directly from BFSGH! These horses
from BFSGH have been consistently placing top honors in the show rings
at the largest gypsy horse shows across the nation.
How We
Determine Prices
Many people wonder how
we arrive at the prices we set on our horses. The
answer to this is seemingly simple - The prices on the
horses are set by the Gypsy people who developed, breed, and
trade in these horses. It is often difficult for our
American clients to understand that the market for their
horses is strongly affected by the Gypsy families overseas.
We are frequently asked how that can be since it costs so
much to ship them. We determine our pricing base on
what the horses are trading for amongst the gypsies.
This can be tricky however since one must really understand
the intricacies of trade amongst gypsies. This takes
many weeks overseas each year to understand and keep on top
of. Once we know what the horse's true value is
amongst the Gypsies, we will add in the costs to bring her
to the USA, and the expenses to operate our farm and
business. This results in the proper price an
American client should pay for any given horse.
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ALERT! Be
very leery of any so-called 'true born gypsies' overseas
offering horses directly to US buyers. What seems like an
attractive price at first will grow substantially as you add in
all the 'incidental' fees. Of course, you don't realize
this until you've been separated from your money. In all
these deals, you have no guarantees, return policy, or legal
recourse. There are many common scams that have been dealt
upon US buyers over the years. Some of the newer scams
being seen involve the falsification of shipping documents.
The unsuspecting US buyer can face substantial fines and/or jail
time if caught (as they are considered the 'importer' by the
feds). Don't take the risk! Do your homework,
and you will realize that purchasing from BFSGH provides you the
quality, price, benefits, security, and prestige you will
receive nowhere else. You get all this guaranteed in a
written contract allowing proper recourse if you are not
completely satisfied. |
Our Commitment To You
Clients will often ask how they can know
if they are buying a good horse, or the right horse.
As you explore our website, you will soon discover that we
have a commitment to knowledge and education on the breed.
We do not want you to buy a horse from us because we tell
you it's a good one. Instead, we will provide you with
the information and tools (on this website) you need to
determine this for yourself. Now we don't expect
anyone to become an expert on the breed by reading a
website, but we do believe you'll feel much more confident
in your purchase once you've studied all we have to offer.
We believe you'll find that we are the only
breeders/importers of the Gypsy Horse who will provide such
in-depth information. Other breeders either don't know
these things, or don't want you to know them. Well, we
do. We have always felt an educated client is our best
client, and we are happy to provide that knowledge.
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