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Glite Dictionary
blood spavin

blood spavin

9.9
A swelling on a horse's hock caused by enlarged veins
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : espavin
  • The veterinarian diagnosed the horse with a blood spavin after noticing the swelling near the hock.

Examples

  • Show horses with blood spavin are often not allowed to compete due to lameness issues.

  • A blood spavin may not always cause pain, but it can indicate underlying joint problems.

  • What is a blood spavin?

  • The horse has a blood spavin.

  • The veterinarian diagnosed the horse with a blood spavin after noticing the swelling near the hock.

  • Show horses with blood spavin are often not allowed to compete due to lameness issues.

  • A blood spavin may not always cause pain, but it can indicate underlying joint problems.

Synonyms

spavin
vsblood spavin
  • Specialized
9.9

A swelling on a horse's back leg joint that often makes the horse limp

is a venous enlargement of the hock swelling rather than a bony growth

Surface Forms

blood spavin singular
blood spavins plural

Morphology

blood + spavin

The headword transparently combines 'blood' with the veterinary noun 'spavin', so a learner who knows both could plausibly infer this refers to a vascular form or swelling related to a spavin. However, 'spavin' is a technical equine term and the precise pathology (enlarged veins rather than a simple bony growth) is specialist knowledge, so the meaning is only partially predictable.

Etymology

Blood spavin comes from a simple image: blood because the veins and swollen area often look dark and full, and spavin is an old word for a swelling on a horse's 'hock'. That's why the name refers to the visible swelling on a horse's hock today.