Here in the Midwest when the air gets dry in January, you can see sparks when taking fleece coolers and liners off. I can’t believe the horses that tolerate fleece quarter sheets while working. I’ll use fleece when the horse is damp enough to keep the static away. Otherwise, the Schneider’s wool blend is very nice and really easy to clean compared to 100% wool.
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Air is dry in NY in the frigid winter months in NY too.
I use a fleece quarter sheet and a fleece cooler. Yes, there is some static. But like was mentioned above, it is about the same as removing a winter blanket.
My experience with a lovely wool cooler is that I washed it in cold water, hung it to dry and it shrunk so much that it will never fit anything I own ever again.
I now use fleece coolers so I can wash and dry them.
Thanks, everyone, for all the helpful advice/recommendations/suggestions/discussion. Keep it coming!
In response to the thoughtful questions from @JB, most of the riding will be done while the sun is still up. So I’ll have that going in our favor.
Intensity level will be light schooling and long, slowish hacking. But since he’s coming back into work after an extended time as a pasture ornament, he might be generating more of a sweat than a fitter horse would. Still, I’m going to go slowly and adjust things to his readiness — planning for under-saddle wet, but not “ears to tail after gallop sets wet.”
Overnight blanketing isn’t an option due to the setup at this barn. So my solution needs to be a temporary coverup, but not something that can be left in place until the following day.
I especially appreciate the recommendations for specific coolers! Buying my own is a new frontier for me, so help in narrowing my options is awesome.
OTOH, if drying the coat enough allows it to fluff sooner, that warm air layer within the coat will help keep him warm(er) while the rest of the moisture works its way out. That’s all I really aim for when I towel dry - allow fluffing. It’s also why I remove substantial caked mud off if the night will be extra cold - hair can’t fluff with all that.
Coming back to forced work on a sunny, still day, could result in some “glistening” 
but you might be surprised, given the above “sweat working its way from the skin out to the hairs” discussion, how relatively little is still at skin level by the time you’re untacking. In this type of work, he shouldn’t be so hot that his hair is slicked down with sweat. If he is, consider a light trace clip if the intent is to keep progressing his work load through the Winter.
You are obviously dealing with much warmer temperatures than I am. It is cold enough here that the horse can have beads of moisture on the tips of their dry, fluffy winter hair after a ride. I tried toweling once and realized it was a bad idea. By this point mud is entirely a non-issue as it is frozen solid and possibly buried under snow!
Generally by the time the horse is cool enough to return to the barn the base of the hair on the sweatiest areas (not covered by tack) is dry. I have riding strategies to minimize sweating as well. I can’t use them in a lesson situation, but for other rides they help immensely. An early modified trace clip is helpful as the reduced hair reduces sweat, and. the early clip allows some growth on the clipped areas to keep the horse comfortable in turnout.
When you ride look down and check his shoulders often. When he gets warm the hair will change direction before he actually breaks a sweat. This is your cue to do some walk work for a few minutes and let him cool a bit before another trot/canter work period.
After canter if you trot for a few minutes he will cool a bit and be drier than if you went straight to walk.
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We may be “only” NC, but we have days where that happens 
Just not at this point, but Jan and Feb it easily happens.
Good idea about the shoulders - they really are the first to really show. You can also lay a hand on the rump and see if it’s starting to feel damp, even if the hairs are still fluffed a bit.
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Thanks, @RedHorses. I have experience legging up roly-poly beasties, so definitely planning on working up and down through the gears in a measured, thoughtful fashion. But the “hair changing direction” thing is new to me – I love learning little tricks like this!
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Brain is exploding over here, didn’t realize that I could put a turnout blanket on a slightly damp horse either! I’m not entirely sure why I didn’t think of this
Because pony club and all horse keeping books probably stress that your horse needs to be bone dry, handwalked for an hour, rubbed down, curried to a shine, before you leave the barn 
It’s amazing the shortcuts you can take of you pay attention to what works on a given horse blanket and climate combo.
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I have no advice on what cooler etc (they are all a necessary PITA, lol). However, I would add that if you can build into your routine a chance to strip the tack and spend a few minutes handwalking (in the cooler of your choice if needed) not only will it speed along your drying, but give a really nice cooling down and limbering out of those getting-in-shape muscles. Not for an hour like Scribbler’s pony club 
but a few minutes when you can/on his harder-working days could go a long way.
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Ironically, I spent a lot of time in Pony Club as a kid so that would make sense. Your depiction is pretty accurate haha!
I also think it’s because modern blanket materials are so much more breathable than they used to be. Fabric technology has come a long way in the 30 years since I learned the “rules” about cooling out/blanketing horses as a kid.
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I tried to upload a picture but CoTH doesn’t like me. 
Thanks again for all the great advice. Count me as another person carrying around a lot of traditional, exacting notions of How Things Are Done in the Barn. That, plus the fact that this is not actually my horse, makes me want to be very thorough.
I picked up a cozy fleece and a nice Irish knit at the local tack consignment store. They both fit great, plus the fleece is providing excellent warmth at late-season baseball games this weekend. (“Mom, why can’t you use a normal blanket like the other parents?”)
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My favorite is wool. But I do really like the Rambo airmax cooler. I use it all year long, and since it has removable belly straps, it can be used in the trailer or as a stable sheet if you need. It’s got a smoother outer and a mesh inner, so it is great as a drying sheet in all weather, but the air pockets help create warmth in colder weather. I think it would probably get your horse dryer faster than wool or fleece and probably be warm enough for such temporary use.
It’s also easy to wash. Main downside is that the fabric can get snagged kind of easily if the velcro comes open in the wash or if you do use it as a stable sheet.
Horseware has started making a blanket liner in the same material and equate it roughly to 100g and better for more humid climates.
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