A mount may become agitated by an unfamiliar or frightening situation, and so become more difficult to control.
A mount becomes agitated when it first comes into contact with a loud noise or strange smell or if it is stunned in combat. A mount that is not trained for battle will become agitated by any combat activity (and may not be calmed during the combat).
A character mounted on an agitated mount has a -2 penalty on all riding dice rolls (including combat speed, attacking, blocking/parrying and dodging while mounted).
A character may attempt to calm an agitated mount; this will pacify the mount and return it to a normal state. In combat, it takes the equivalent of a ready weapon action to attempt to calm a mount.
Should an agitated mount (before it is successfully calmed) suffer new circumstances that would normally cause it to become agitated, it will rear. When a mount rears, it bucks and the rider loses control of the mount, until he/she successfully calms the mount. The rider must also make dice rolls to remain mounted, while this happens. A rearing mount will tend to bolt and run away from whatever was causing it to rear in the first place, at breakneck speed.