Who Needs Sherlock Holmes? I Solve My Own Mysteries

A few days ago, Dino came down with a case of lumpy bumpy itchy scratchy gross nasty hives. I would have taken a picture of them for posterity, but I didn't have my camera. In any case, they were unsightly, and large, and I had absolutely no idea what caused them. Did he eat something he was allergic to? Maybe a poisonous plant? Roll in an ant hill? Was he allergic to his fly spray? WAS HE ALLERGIC TO ME?! I ran through every possible scenario, and gave him a bath for good measure to wash off any irritants that might still have been on his skin. Still, i was stumped.

Then, while taking a nap the next afternoon, (hey, a girl's gotta sleep when she can) I had a brilliant epiphany. The hives only appeared on Dino's flanks, the sides of his rump, and a few scattered on his neck and shoulders. There were none on his back, head, belly, or legs, or anywhere that the saddle and pad cover. This ruled out him  having rolled in something, which would DEFINITELY have caused hives on his back and the top of his rump, or eating something strange, which probably would have resulted in a more uniform distribution of hives. However, since the weather got warm a large hedge comprised partially of honeysuckles, and mostly of plants that defy identification, has sprung up on the side of the hill where we ride sometimes. Dino also has a habit of brushing his entire body right up against the hedge. THUSLY, I concluded that there must be some type of irritating vegetation growing there, and Dino, not knowing any better, rubbed himself right up against it, causing himself to break out in hives all along his sides.

Please, hold your applause. I'm just naturally this intelligent and fascinating, I don't even have to try.

P.S. Yes, the hives went away and Dino no longer looks like a poor, pitiful, hopelessly lumpy creature.