Thank you! Guess what I’m doing tomorrow!!! Thank you to everyone who contributed ideas. I appreciate all of you.
If you curry them really well before the hot towel method it will also remove some of the dirt at skin level, which can help preserve your blades.
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I was laughing at the two weeks limit; I think mine is more like three. I’ve gotten so lazy because I do the jumpers and well…it’s made me lazy about clipping perfectly, but I do try to not make us look stupid when we go out in public. I clip pretty much everything except I leave his whiskers and I don’t do inside his ears, as he wears a bonnet, but I do buzz up the outsides. In a barn full of event horses who have trace clips we look mildly over-the-top with a full clip, but we’re used to it.
My guy stands very nicely in his stall with some alfalfa so I usually clip him in there but the lighting is terrible. Last year I brought in some clip lamps and it looked like a crime scene while I was clipping, but good lighting is key!
I’ve been meaning to try clipping wet, but because my LIsters get hot very quickly I’m not sure giving them more friction to deal with is the best idea. I usually bring a little cooler with some ice packs and put the blades on an ice pack wrapped in a towel to cool them off more quickly. I feel like somehow this might be bad for them, but so far so good <> <— my motto when I think I’m doing something dumb but plan to keep doing it.
Ha! I thought that was just me. 
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I have Lister Stars and I also find them to get warm quickly- in my case, it’s because the filter tends to get clogged. I clip wet in summer, and the filter tends to get less clogged.
I do the same as you do with the ice packs!
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Clipping when the coat is slightly damp is great because the hair doesn’t fly everywhere. Clipping truly wet with a heavy coat is very hard on your clippers. You can get away with clipping wet if the horse is fine coated.
Agree with all the other tips here, and especially the two week rule.
I like to hot towel the horse all over after clipping - gets rid of the loose hair and dirt and brings the oils up in the coat.
I like to finish with a little spritz of Shapley’s #1 oil. If the horse’s clipped out coat is dull or matte colored, the #1 oil is a lifesaver.
It does not work as proper lube (you still have to actually oil periodically through the clip) but Kool Lube works great for quickly cooling down hot blades.
Pay someone else. 
just joking I clip wet. Less hair in my face and horse is happier unless it’s cold then he’d rather skip the entire event
This. This is the advice
I actually do the body clip myself and then usually pay someone to come out to clip their faces, legs, and pull their manes. I have 3 that get clipped though so it makes financial sense for the person to come.
I am so bad at doing their faces. Comically bad. My mom came to help me at a horse show a week ago and told me I wasn’t allowed to have clippers anymore, because his face clip was too embarrassing.
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