Mechanical lameness is a gait abnormality not cuased by pain and a proper lamness is an abnormality caused by pain. Example of mechanical lamness is a horse I knew got kicked and diplaced it tendon from it hock when it was healed it could not bend the leg as well as it did so swung it out and was by all accounts lame but it was not in pain as you could give it hunge quanties of painkillers and would still do it as a result of the tendon now being in a different place hope that makes sense. Stringhalt is also a mechanical lamness
