228 The Diseases of Animals 
usually a result of inflammation of the part, which, in 
turn, is an effort of nature to overcome an injury or a 
disease. In many cases, after the disease or injury is 
cured, the bunch is absorbed and the part returns to 
its normal size. The absorption of bony bunches can 
frequently be assisted by the application of light blis- 
ters to the parts. When a bony bunch occurs at a 
joint and welds the bones together, the joint is said 
to be “anchylosed,” (page 222) and remains perma- 
nently stiff. 
BONE SPAVIN 
A bone spavin is an inflammation of some of the 
bones forming the hock-joint of the horse, usually 
followed by a bunch or exostosis, which causes anchy- 
losis, or welding together of the bones of the joint. 
Bone spavins occur on the inside of the joint, slightly 
to the front. There are two kinds, commonly recog- 
nized according to their location, the high spavin, and 
the low or “jack” spavin. The high spavin is 
usually the more serious, as the joint affected is more 
important and more motion takes place there. 
The causes of bone spavin may be divided into (1) 
the predisposing, which includes a bad conformation or 
a hereditary tendency, and (2) the exciting, such as 
strains or injuries which are direct causes Horses with 
rough, coarse hocks or with hock-jomts that are 
either too straight or too bent or crooked, are liable 
to spavin. There is also an hereditary tendency often 
transmitted from the sire or dam to the offspring. 
There is a frequently expressed opinion among farmers 
