I hide the paste in their grain. I'm sneaky. =(
I started doing that after my old mare almost capped me in the knee by jumping back and striking out. She was kinda bonkers though. Found out a few weeks ago she had a 'seizure'. I'm thinking they couldn't vaccinate her because she was nuts and got WNV.
But what you're doing sounds like a good idea. Nothing like a nice gentle stroke and some calm steady words. =)