What’s wrong with me !

[ThePlumVan]

I’ve had a long break from horses and am now riding nearly every day schooling in an arena (no hacking), But finding myself exhausted after about 15 minutes (the shame!). I’m not overweight or (I think!) particularly unfit.
Horse is quite hard work and needs lots of leg, seat & hand but by the time he’s going forward into my hand I actually think I’m going to pass out from heat exhaustion/bog standard exhaustion !

Any advice for a sweaty, panting rider ??

Stick at it, there’s no quick fix to building your fitness up. You’ll get there!

Riding fitness is very different to general fitness. Keep going, you'll get there!
I'm generally fit for hacking and schooling, but my 5yr old mare and I did a tiny cross country course last week, first one in years for me, and first ever for her. I'm not sure who was breathing harder by the end of it, but we were both pouring sweat and exhausted after 7 minutes of cantering and jumping!

I guess you need to work on getting your horse more self motivated and forward to make your life easier! I'd be doing a million transitions up and down till horse is zipping off your aids. Then build up your riding fitness by being disciplined about keeping trotting/cantering when you feel like slumping in the saddle and walking. Even walking lateral work will strengthen your core if you do it properly, so leg yields and SI in walk, then into trot for a bit and repeat.

The BHS equitation guide says it's the third most taxing all-round workout after open-water swimming and cross-country ski-ing!

After a 5k run I’m a bit sweaty and slightly out of breath, but after a 30 minute lesson I’m red in the face, need a big drink of water and feel like I’ve had a real workout!

Riding does use different muscles from everyday life and I think the mental effort makes a difference too. However, it does get easier - my dd usually rides 5 or 6 big, fit event horses every day so is spending hours in the saddle and yet irritatingly she’s as fresh when she finishes as when she started

Would it best to slow things down a bit? Schooling everyday means your muscles aren't getting a chance to recover.

I'm also an adult beginner who's schooling but I couldn't do it daily yet.

Maybe drop the lessons back to twice a week while you build your strength up? It's just as important to rest and recover as it is to work.

Sounds normal. Can you hack out? A horse that us hard work to school might be less so if he wasn't having to do it every day. A leisurely (or not!) Hack will give you a break and might freshen him up a bit