Restive /(r?st"?v)/

Rest·ive

Restive

a.
  1. Unwilling to go on; obstinate in refusing to move forward; stubborn; drawing back.
    Restive or resty, drawing back, instead of going forward, as some horses do.
    — E. Philips (1658).
    The people remarked with awe and wonder that the beasts which were to drag him [Abraham Holmes] to the gallows became restive, and went back.
  2. Inactive; sluggish. [Obs.]
  3. Impatient under coercion, chastisement, or opposition; refractory.
  4. Uneasy; restless; averse to standing still; fidgeting about; -- applied especially to horses.