Those problem spots

The reason I am creating this blog is to keep track of my horse training business. I will also be writing about the things I learn as ride and train horses. It may be a little longer than usual blogs because I will try to explain the events in a way that is very clear and easy to understand.
I have a 10 year old percheron thoroughbred cross named "Sonora", she is very athletic and soft and handles very well. However when laid off for an extended period, it is a guarantee that she will be cold backed and most likely try to buck when being mounted the first time. I have dealt with this for years and I knew her so I would just warm her up good and once I got her through it she was fine. I took her out the other day when the temperature was around 0 degrees and the ground covered in snow. I had saddled and hauled her out to the desert, when I went to mount I knew what she had up her sleeve so I didn't swing my leg over and sure enough she blew up and I stepped down and pulled her around. I worked her around in a circle disengaging her hind quarters and making her work. I remounted and stepped on, she was really tight and I finally got her lined out and we jogged for a while. I started making circles on her in a flat area and I decided to do some one rein stops. This is where I noticed something I never had before. When I flexed her she did great, as far as being light to the touch and she gave great. The problem came when I tried to rub her on the face, she was really nervous about me rubbing across her eye. I worked with her for a while on both sides and she really struggled. I believe she is struggling with claustrophobia. Each time I would rub across her face I would feel her get tight and nervous and she really wanted me to stop. I realized that this was a problem and I knew I had to stick with it and not allow her to be relieved of the pressure until she stood still and relaxed. I kept flexing her and rubbing on her face until I felt her body begin to relax and she stood still. I found that spot, you know, the one where they tell you that you need to spend more time working on that spot. Our horses will tell us what we need to work on, all we need to do is listen. This coming week I will be focusing on desensitizing exercises that will help her overcome these fears