A quick word about the horse auctions on our site. We hope this addresses some of the good concerns and questions asked regarding these auctions. (Q): Why would you auction off horses to the highest bidder? (A): We believe that there are folks out there who may prefer to purchase through an auction. We have the right to refuse the purchase if we feel like the buyer is not set up properly or is without the proper funding to continue to give the horse the loving care it deserves! (Q): Why would you import horses and then auction them off? (A): We are only auctioning a few of our younger horses to help benefit charitable organizations such as Smoky Mountain Service Dogs. As a matter of fact, neither of the horses currently at auction (nor future ones) were imported. We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars annually ensuring our horses have all required shots, worming, pregnancy checks, DNA, etc. We own over 300 acres of pasture land, and we grain and hay each and every horse we own daily – 365 days a year. We spare no expense to care for these wonderful horses. We do not earn a living through breeding horses, but we do like to see our babies go to homes where they can have a job and a caring human family to look after them. (Q): Why not just give them to a charity? (A): We have donated Gypsy Horses over the past several years to charity and will be presenting 10 PATH International premiere accredited EAAT centers with a Gypsy Horse on July 26. Visit GypsyGift.com for details. It is very important to our family that we are an active part of giving back to the community. (Q): Are you trying to just make money off of the auctions? (A): NO – we are hoping to use the auction format to encourage people to purchase a horse and support Smoky Mountain Service Dogs in their endevours to train service dogs for veterans. (Q): How do you feel about negative comments others make about your auction promotion? (A): We feel it is their right and privilege to say and do as they see fit. We would like to let everyone know that we are always free to chat via Eric’s cell phone at 865-816-2761 or via email at info@gogypsy.com. We have found that if we stay positive and give our horses lots of love, care, and attention AND always learn more from each day then we will be ok. It is our preferred method to talk one on one to people we have issues with or questions about. Unfortunately, many people speak about a topic prior to taking the time to research the truth. Our goals are solid, and we will continue to work towards being the very best at what we do. Having said that, we do appreciate feedback! We enjoy learning from others comments and dialogue. If nothing else, the comments give us a bit to think about, help us to better understand the speaker’s point of view, and then adjust as required. (Q): Will you be importing more horses? (A): We have built a solid foundation for our breeding program. At this time we have no plans to continue importation except for that occasional horse we just have to have! We will continue to research and find quality breeding stock here in the USA. Our plan, all along, has been to purchase a great group of stallions and mares, pay the high cost of importation, breed them, and then offer our foals to families without the high cost of importation. We hope to continue to be a part of making the Gypsy horse known to the American public. It has so much to offer!! Respectfully, Eric & Mechelle Barton