Can anyone please tell me

[RDrancher]

Could they be juvenile Locust trees?

We have locust trees here that have thorns on them that make the ones on Mesquite trees look juvenile. The thorns will puncture R4's with no problem. After trimming up locusts to remove them my arms and hands look like I got in a wrestling match with a jaguar!

 

[DIRTROAD]

We have locust trees here that have thorns on them that make the ones on Mesquite trees look juvenile. The thorns will puncture R4's with no problem. After trimming up locusts to remove them my arms and hands look like I got in a wrestling match with a jaguar!

Yes locust are very destructive and also very prevalent across the WNC mountains. The way the OP described them, it is quite possible that they are still in thier juvenile form. I usually get into them every time I do a job in Polk or Henderson counties. I've seen them in Rutherford county, just not as many.

 

[Redneck in training]

Locust trees were introduced to Australia in around 1800. They are classified as noxious weed forming impenetrable forests for people and animals in some places.