Bones Episode Recap: Death in the Saddle

Some boys camping in the woods discover a dead man covered in maggots. Bones is convinced that Cam called her to the scene with a fleshy body to get her and Booth on a case together. Cam defends herself by pointing out that the body is missing its feet so Bones is needed.

Back at the Jeffersonian, Cam and Bones discover the time of death and Jack announces that Angela is going to be hypnotized to remember her husband. He adds that that the substance on the man's skin is sunscreen for horses. Cam relays that the contents of his stomach are corn, raw oats and dried molasses - horse food. Bones points out that the man's jaw shows evidence of wearing a bit and Booth found out that the victim's name is Ed.

The man's widow isn't even sure her husband had ever seen a real horse. Otherwise she claims that he was on a corporate retreat in Florida. It's tradition to bury a champion thoroughbred's hooves separately because they have power. Angela is nervous about being hypnotized. Cam reassures her that she's doing it because she loves Jack and so they can be together.

Meanwhile, Booth and Bones trace Mr. Ed's last credit card purchase to a Country Inn that caters to people with a horse fetish. Mr. Ed's rider reveals that his wife walked in on them while she was rubbing him down for the night.

Booth and Bones confront the wife about her lie that she thought her husband was in Orlando on a business trip. She confesses that she did walk in, but turned around and left immediately. She went home and hired a divorce attorney. When Booth asks how she found him, she reveals that she received a phone call from a man with an accent who told her where to go. Booth asks for her alibi.

Bones doesn't believe that the wife killed her husband because his feet were cut off and his hands were bound post mortem. Bones convinces Booth that they need to continue investigating the horse culture. They return to the Inn and find Calvin, the man who called Mr. Ed's wife. He admitted to the call because he wanted Mr. Ed's rider for himself, but not enough to kill the man.

Back at the Jeffersonian, Angela frantically searches for a photograph of her first husband when the hypno therapist asks her to bring one. Zack discovers that the wound in Mr. Ed's head resembles one a hoof knife which is used to slaughter horses would make. He and Jack punch a hoof knife into cantaloupe to confirm the theory. It turns out that Mr. Ed not only lived like a horse, but he was slaughtered like one as well.

Jack discovers that twine that bound Mr. Ed's hands was treated with sun block to preserve it in the sun. Angela tries to relax after a failing to be hypnotized. They trace the twine back to the Inn and Booth brings the owner in for questioning.

The man isn't concerned because he has that twine all over the ranch. Any of his guests could have taken it. Booth reveals the he did some checking and the owner's ex wife is none other than the victim's rider. Booth speculates that the owner didn't like seeing other men with his wife. The owner reiterates that they were divorced. Booth threatens to search the place for a hoof knife which killed the victim. The owner admits to having a hoof knife, but it had been stolen a few days previous. Booth isn't really buying the man's story and he remembers a disagreement he had with a butcher who advocated eating horse flesh. The man brought flyers to the ranch, but the owner took them and tossed them in his truck. The next morning he discovered that his truck had been broken into. The flyers and the hoof knife were gone.

Back in the lab, Jack and Zack separately come to the conclusion that the hoof knife which punctured Mr. Ed's skull was the same knife used to cut off his feet. They conclude that whoever did it was adept with cutting through bone. Armed with that information, Booth and Bones pay the butcher a visit. When Booth shows the man his ID, he runs. Bones cuts him off and Booth arrests him.

Booth and Bones question the butcher. He's surprised to learn that Mr. Ed is dead. He tells Booth and Bones that he is a rider himself and admired the victim's style. He certainly didn't kill him. Booth calls him on why he ran. The butcher admits that he's a deserter from the National Guard. He's not a killer. He reveres horses and eating them is just another way to worship them.

Angela finally relaxes enough to be hypnotized. Bones and Cam go over the evidence again. They discover that Mr. Ed's eyes were gouged out even though his feet were removed carefully. This leads them to suspect a doctor might have been involved. Turns out, Mr. Ed's rider is a doctor in her real life. Booth and Bones go back to the Inn to confront her. While the owner goes to call her an attorney, she admits that she killed Mr. Ed because she loved him. She'd turned down other ponies for him, but he'd decided to go back to his wife. She wasn't going to let that happen. Case solved.

Angela returns to the office after her hypnosis reveals only a giant wasp. On her own, she remembers that she was reading a book in Fiji with a giant wasp on the cover. Inside, she finds the picture of her and her husband, but his face is turned away. Better still, his first name is on the back leading her to remember his last name. She and Jack are a step closer to finding him so she can divorce him and marry Jack. Despite her reassurances, Jack looks more than a little insecure about the other man's size.

Booth and Bones unwind in the diner. Bones teases him about going vegetarian. He says that he didn't lose his appetite because she mentioned horse meat, but because she reminded him of all those people parading around pretending to be something they aren't just so they can have crappy sex. Bones calls on how he knows it's crappy. He says it has to be because there can't be any real connection between the two. That connection is needed to truly make love and become one. It's a miracle when it's done right. Bones concedes the argument to him.