arab freaks out when going home

Question
I have just recently began riding this 17 year old Arab gelding that is a brat when he knows he is going home.  He won't walk! He will prance, stomp his feet, swish his tail madly, pretend he is spooking at everything, etc.  Yesterday he got so bad everytime he faced home he would stop, get really tense, shake, as if he were going to explode.  My roomate has had the horse for 3 years and he has always done the same thing.  It is her first horse that she has owned and her and
we are both gettting frustrated.  What can we do?

Answer
The behavioral habit your gelding has developed is called barn sour.  Horses were taken from the barns and worked, driven,ridden and returned to the barn where they were groomed and fed and rested.  Soon these horses didn't want to leave the comfort of the barn.
You are going to need a few things to eliminate this behavior.  Get baggies and put his feed in them.  Also get a baggie and put treats in it (carrots/apples, etc.) As you are riding along, stop ever so often, turn as if to return home, dismount (if you can do this safely and still remount). Stand quietly and offer a treat or two to the horse.  Scratch his neck. Use the lick response (stick your finger in his mouth where a bit goes and wiggle your finger around until the horse licks. He will relax and have learned the lesson you are trying to teach.  Mount up and continue away from the barn on yor ride.  Try stopping several times and always at different places.  Carry his feed with you and allow him to eat while he is away from the barn.  
When you do return to the barn, remove the saddle and longe him for at least 15 minutes each direction at the trot. Allow him to walk and cool off and then stall him.  Don't groom him until you are getting ready to ride again. Give him hay (if he is being kept in a stall).  You didn't mention if he was being stalled next to another horse with whom he has bonded.  Many times a horse will resist leaving a herdmate too.  This is a similar behavior and the same training methods may be used.