Of course we did the 'wrap the lines around our body and stare at the trainer' bit, but the photographer was nice enough to leave that out...

 

Adamir isn't sure about the lines around his back legs, but it didn't take long for him to realize that those lines didn't mean he needed to trot

He started to relax nicely, and even think about bending

I know I have loops in my reins, but I was trying to keep everything really relaxed. If he started trotting, things would escalate and we'd be back to straight back, whoa, let's return to the walk. It was a lot for him to think about, so he'd start to think that speeding up was the best choice. I thought it was better to keep him slow and calm.