OklahomaHorses Magazine March 2021

22 OklahomaHorses • March/April 2021 Lindsay Bippus Real Estate Broker / Owner 12342 E. 86th St. N. | Owasso 74055 (918) 706-3857 dreammakerrealtyok.com Looking to buy or sell a horse property in the greater Owasso area? Hand the reins to Lindsay Bippus at DreamMaker Realty, Owasso’s equine property specialist! Anita says she knew right then she had to get Tattoo for Branigan. However, it would be another seven months until Branigan found out. Tattoo’s breeders are John and Debbie Leth- am at Letham Stables. “I kind of pulled John aside and asked what would it take for us to get this horse,” Anita says. “He made me an offer because he said, ‘In my heart, that little horse belongs to her.’ So we compiled some money, and Branigan’s big sister Sam Toubl helped, and we secretly bought the horse from John and did not tell her.” Branigan worked with the horses every day until the day she was told Tattoo had been sold. “She said, ‘Mom, I can’t do this anymore,’” Anita says. “Once a week, I’d tell her to go check on Tattoo, but she couldn’t. There were so many times I wanted to tell her.” Branigan got the surprise of her life that Christmas morning when she opened a box to find a picture of Tattoo. Her mother says she thought the present was the picture until she picked it up and saw the transfer of ownership papers underneath. “She just became hysterical and cried,” Anita says. “She had no idea we’d bought that horse.” Anita says that her family has always had horses but never raised a colt. The idea made her nervous at first, but she quickly saw that Tattoo was a different kind of horse. “Not one time did I ever have a feeling that she was going to get hurt,” Anita says. “Branigan got right in the stall with that little baby. She had him circling around her from the minute he was able to have a halter put on, and she was the first person to get on his back. They call her the horse whisperer because she’s just got the right monotone, and horses are drawn to her.” Branigan studies psychology at Redlands Com- munity College in El Reno. Even with a strong love of animals, she is majoring in humans. “I am fascinated with the brain,” she says. “I’m hoping my horses and my counseling will mix again someday. I love working with people and animals and everything in between.”