BEWARE OF THE SCAMMERS DEFINITION OF A SCAMMER. One who seeks to swindle you or separate you from your money, by means of deception or fraud I'm sure it has not gone unnoticed, that in recent years, the Gypsy Horse/Vanner/Cob, has become increasingly popular within the equine community. Unfortunately, with this sort of popularity, come the scammers. The first scammers we will discuss here, are those who have horses for sale. These are real horses, not the fictitious sorts, which will be discussed further down. Reading through various all breed horse sales sites, one can come across all kinds of horses listed as Gypsies. Unfortunately, many are not. They might be Gypsy crosses, heavy horses with a little colour - ie. tobiano patterns, or sometimes solid coloured horses with a little or no feather. A Gypsy Horse crossed with any other breed, is NOT a Gypsy! It's plain and simple. The proven offspring of Gypsy Horse bred to a Shire or Clydesdale, can be registered as a Drum Horse. Drums are considered a breed of their own. Their history is well documented, so I shall not explain here. All others are crosses. In the present economy, it is beyond ridiculous, that any are breeding crosses of anything in my opinion, yet many do and advertise them as Gypsies. Sometimes they make it clear in their ads, that a given horse is a cross, but be aware that many do not. So if you, as a newcomer into the breed, discovers a Gypsy Horse/Vanner/Cob, advertised for sale and the horse appeals to you, make sure you ask the buyer with whom the sire and dam are registered. If you cannot see the sire and dam, demand pictures, their registered names and do your homework. If you are still not sure, show pics and ask questions on one or other of the Gypsy forums. Someone will be bound to know the horses and whether or not they are actually purebred. If the price seems very low - consider it a big red flag. Don't be taken in! Now to the worst of scammers across the world. You will find on all-breed sales sites and even on some reasonably good looking websites, scammers advertising Gypsies for sale. These scammers will often show pictures of horses owned by others. Reliable and dedicated breeders who often do not know their horse's picture is being used as a scam sale. The prices are usually extremely low. (First red flag) Sometimes, if you look carefully, they will advertise a mare for sale, when it is obviously a gelding or stallion. (Second red flag) They will often write flowery text as to what the horse is trained to do. Ask if you can view the horse in person and try him/her out. If they refuse,(Third red flag) keep looking. Remember, they don't know this horse at all, but have swiped his/her photo from the real owner's website. Sometimes the horse or horses, are advertised for a small cost, to be "adopted". Let me tell you here and now, we have a very reliable list of knowledgeable breeders on this site, who all are willing to take in rescues or Gypsy Horses in need of adoption. In the last six years in the US, we have only had TWO which needed rehoming. If you contact a possible scammer, ask many questions about the horse. His/her sire and dam for example. The registration body where they and the horse advertised are registered and the actual breeder. If they fail to answer all questions, then this is the fourth red flag. If a scam artist - and most usually are really not very clever, fails to answer questions to your satisfaction, consider another horse. If the seller asks you to send money or asks you to meet him at some Empty Arms Motel, in short - DON'T! Who knows who this person is? He could be meeting you to rob you of the money he thinks you will be carrying, or worse! Keep safe. Don't arrange to meet anyone you don't know. And yes, I have known some who were just about to meet the "seller" at some hotel/motel, to give him the down payment, without ever actually seeing the horse in person. The horse pictured in their scam ad, was a famous stallion, renamed of course and not for sale by his real owner. The scammers who offer cheap and fictitious horses for sale, are almost always in another country. After a while, it does become quite easy to spot their ads on classified sales sites. You will often find they have many ads for very cheap horses. TURN THEM IN! Contact the web owner and demand the ads be removed. If you recognise the horse in the ads, tell the true owner immediately. This kind of scam is going on each and every day. If they find it doesn't work, eventually they will move on. So remember, above all stay safe. Never arrange to meet anyone with an offer too good to be true. Check out the owner, stable and horse thoroughly, before plonking down or sending money. Ask a thousand questions. If anything at all doesn't ring true, request help on a Gypsy forum. As reliable breeders, we are all there to help you make a wise choice and not possibly lose a large sum of money. One more item which I'd like to get off my chest. If you belong to one of the many all-breed forums on the net, you will likely come across many in other breeds, who are all too willing in seemingly endless message threads, to poo-poo the Gypsy Horse. Such messages ALWAYS come from those who have no knowledge of the breed. Most parrot that which others before them have written. Sadly, such messages often come from those in the UK, where Gypsies and their horses, have for generations, been put down, rebuked and damned. I sincerely doubt any have seen a Gypsy Horse of quality. Why? Because they are not what most will see in fields by the side of the road, but hidden away in pastures far from the public eye. Such naysayers, seem to find great pleasure in putting down the breeds of others. Interestingly, I have never yet seen Gypsy Horse owners, damning other, more well-known breeds. Is it jealousy? Is it ignorance? Possibly both. But follow along, like lambs to the slaughter they do, and seem to find great pleasure in finding fault with the breed we know and love. But take heart. If you are seriously interested in the breed, read through our site here. Join a forum. Ask questions and do your homework. You will soon discover that those who seek to make fun of our breed, only in the end, serve to make themselves appear as uninformed fools. Gypsy Horses are like potato chips - you can't have just one! Go back to... All text, pictures, animations, borders and backgrounds, appearing on this site, are the sole property of E.DeLeo and S.Clark, unless public domain or otherwise noted and may not be copied or reproduced without permission. Copyright E. DeLeo. 2003. Website Design by Lizzie