The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word ROUGHSHOD
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
R
O
U
G
H
S
H
O
D
Buddy explains!

The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does ROUGHSHOD mean?
ROUGHSHOD adjective- Of a horse: having hooves shod with calks or horseshoes that have projecting nails to prevent slipping.
- (by extension) Brutal or domineering.