IPA: /ˈhɔːrspɒks/
KK: /ˈhɔrsˌpɑks/
A skin disease that affects horses, causing pustules, and can be transmitted to cows, leading to cowpox.
The veterinarian diagnosed the horse with horsepox after noticing the pustules on its skin.
Horpox is formed from "horse" (from Old English "hors", meaning a large domesticated animal used for riding and work) and "pox" (from Latin "pocca", meaning a disease or blemish). The word "horsepox" refers to a disease affecting horses, characterized by skin lesions or blemishes.
Think of a 'horse' as the animal affected and 'pox' as the disease or blemish it has — that's why horsepox refers to a disease in horses.
No commonly confused words.