1. (of a horse) having horseshoes with projecting nails to prevent slipping
   "The roughshod horses were better equipped to handle the icy terrain"
    
2. Unjustly domineering
   "a manager who rode roughshod over all opposition";
   - heavy-handed
    
3. (of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
   "Stalin's roughshod treatment of the kulaks";
   - barbarous, brutal, cruel, fell, savage, vicious

See also: domineering, inhumane, shod, shodden, shoed

Encyclopedia: Roughshod