I normally live in TX. ... Riding
on an 18 inch trail that goes straight up and straight down without any
other challenges was more than an ordinary challenge. One spook and
'it is over' for you or your horse or both.
I also live in Texas but was riding with friends in Taos, NM on trails
like you mentioned. Shear drop off to one side, steep mountain to the
other side. I survived the ride
but will always call it my "white knuckle/dry mouth" ride. I was
scared to death as I had never ridden on a trail like that and don't
plan to ever do it again. Three places on that trail had been so
eroded that my
horse was stepping over trail where there was almost nothing left of
it. And there was a group of llamas "somewhere" out there and we
didn't know if we were going to come upon them on that narrow trail or
not. Then to top it all off, we reached a place where there was such a
huge tree blocking the trail, we had to maneuver to get ourselves
turned around (which was very difficult) and go back down that same
trail! That whole ride is an
experience I will never forget.