Call them what you will -- wild, stray, feral -- but the Salt River horses that have become famously famous in recent days won't be going anywhere soon.

More than 150 protestors and activists showed up at Saguaro Lake's Butcher Jones Recreational Area Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 4, to make a statement opposing Tonto National Forest's plan to remove the Salt River wild horses from forest service land.

Tonto officials on July 31 posted a seven-day notice announcing the removal of the horses, but it's been a social media firestorm ever since.

Bill Miller, an attorney representing the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group, announced he would be filing an injunction in federal court today to prevent the horses' removal.

Forest officials have called it a "safety issue" to justify removing the herd, but plenty of folks were on hand at Butcher Jones to debunk that reasoning. The Forest Service has said this week that no horse removals would start Friday. With the pending legal action, this issue could be drawn out for quite some time.

Meanwhile, Fountain Hills residents and others who frequent Saguaro Lake, the Salt River or even the Beeline Highway will likely continue to spot the wild horses from time to time.