A variant spelling of caulkin or calkin; a device with sharp points attached to a horse's shoe to prevent slipping on ice or smooth surfaces.
From calk/caulk, possibly influenced by Latin calcis (heel), referring to the sharp points on a horseshoe; primarily a regional or historical variant.
Horse calkins were crucial for winter travel before modern roads—without them, horses would slip on ice and become useless, so farriers kept special equipment for adding these grip-spikes.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.