SOURCE: http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/hundreds-rally-to-save-arizonas-salt-river-wild-horses-7543834

by Elizabeth Stuart

Wild horses hovered nearby during a rally Tuesday protesting the federal government’s plans to round up and remove a well-loved herd from Tonto National Forest.  (photos by Elizabeth Stuart)

The sun is slipping down in the sky on a 112-degree day in Tonto National Forest, casting long shadows over a small herd of horses. A dappled gray, a bay, a dun, and a knock-kneed colt with a star on her forehead snuffle through the underbrush, enjoying dinner to the sounds of chirping birds, buzzing bees, and several hundred people shouting: “Let them be! Wild and Free! Let them be! Wild and Free!”

The crowd gathered Tuesday at a recreation area near the Salt River, where between 65 and 100 such horses roam free, to protest the government’s plan to round them up and remove them from federal lands. Horses that are not claimed by Friday…