Restive
Restive (r?st"?v) , adjective
[Old French restif, French rétif, from Latin restare to stay back, withstand, resist. See Rest remainder, and compare Restiff.]
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.
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. [Obsolete] — Sir T. Browne
3.
Impatient under coercion, chastisement, or opposition; refractory.
4.
Uneasy; restless; averse to standing still; fidgeting about; -- applied especially to horses. — Trench