Phantom's 'menace' on the Salt River

This is, what I believe my most amazing video yet of the Salt River wild horses! I was out in the Tonto National Forest photographing the wild horses in the lower Salt River. It was a very quiet morning and I had only seen one band so far. After waiting for awhile, Phantom's band came out of the forest from the other side of the river to get a drink of water and enjoy a nap in the sun standing in the river. Phantom has a couple new offspring and I was enjoying watching them interact. All you could hear was the birds, the running of the river and the horses move around a bit. I wasn't really paying attention when all the sudden the whole band startled. Phantom came running closer to his band and all the horses were staring in one direction. I look to where they are staring and there is a group of horseback riders getting ready to cross the river from the opposite side but they had seen the band and stopped. This video shows you true mustang behavior and how the lead stallion and his lead mare protect their band and most importantly, their babies. Phantom, of course, is the huge, dark, muscular stallion, his lead mare, red with a unique white blaze.Notice how Phantom flexes his muscles, prances and bobs his head in warning. He and his lead mare were making the loudest warning snorts I've ever heard and unusual sounding. One of the things that amazed me that I didnt notice until I downloaded and reviewed the video is that, around the 3:1 min mark, the whole band begins to move back towards the trees and then they start turning and kind of bumping each other and then form a perfect circle facing outward with the babies inside the circle! These are some of the AMAZING creatures we are trying to save and keep wild! I hope you enjoy the raw beauty of the environment and these gorgeous wild horses! I recomend watching the video in full screen if can, to experience the effect! Enjoy! God Bless! ---Copyright-Robin Bender Knight 2013, use of this video is not allowed without express permission from the photographer