Horse attacks alligator at Florida state park in dramatic video

— -- A group of friends at a Florida state park caught the moment a horse attacked an alligator on video.

Krystal Berry and her friends went to Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park in Micanopy on Wednesday to celebrate their recent graduation from nursing school and were filming the unlikely enemies as they stood near each other in a field, she told Storyful.

In the video, the group of horses appears to be grazing near the alligator when one closest to the reptile suddenly charges toward it, running over the alligator at least twice as it hisses back angrily.

The alligator appears to fight back, attempting to bite the horse after the force of the attack sent it into the air.

The encounter transfixes a small crowd, which seems to be on the gator's side.

"Just leave him alone," one person behind the camera says.

The animals then retreat, with the horse trotting away quickly, keeping an eye on the alligator as it slowly crawls to the opposite side of the field.

Berry asked park officials to check if the animals were harmed in the scuffle, and she said they told her that neither showed any signs of stress or bleeding.

Paynes Prairie is located about 10 miles south of the University of Florida in Gainesville and is a popular recreational destination for students. The university's mascot is the Florida Gators.

ABC News' Darren Reynolds contributed to this report.