Damaged hay feeder - how???

[soloequestrian]

Feeling slightly freaked out!
I took the ring feeder off the old haylage bale yesterday, moved it about 3m away and reassembled it so it was just sat there empty. They had the remains of the old bale to pick through ahead of a new bale going in today. When we took the new bale out the feeder was about 5m further up the field. It was open and one of the metal rods was bent and snapped. The feeder was upside down and squashed so it isn't a circle anymore. There are no marks on the grass and none of the horses have any sign that they have been fighting with a feeder. It wasn't windy last night. We're out of the way so very unlikely that there was human involvement. I am totally baffled, I have absolutely no idea how the feeder could have been damaged.
Any ideas?!

 

[Britestar]

Rubbing bottoms on it?
Mine can move miles when they rub on it.

 

[soloequestrian]

That would make sense if it had just been pushed a bit but it's like it has been put on its side and then sat on.... They couldn't do that, they're not tall enough! And it was out in the field, not like it had been squashed against a wall (that would also be impossible - nothing in the vicinity that it could be crushed up against).

 

[Sparky Lily]

No sensible explanation, but are you sure no-one slipped a Shetland pony in overnight?

Sorry, I’m feeling a tad flippant today.

 

[PurBee]

That is very weird SE! If it was the horses surely youd see loads of hoofprints around the feeder…

This is most definitely an X file! ??

 

[ROMANY 1959]

Could kids have been in field playing with it.

 

[soloequestrian]

It definitely has an X-files vibe... my only explanation so far is 'aliens'. My husband reckons he'd have a job to do that amount of damage if he was trying very hard with a big tractor so even in the unlikely event of kids silently coming out into the middle of the countryside in the cold and dark I don't think they'd have managed.
The marauding Shetland is more likely....

 

[KittenInTheTree]

One or other of the horses has probably just picked it up and tossed it for fun. You know, as they do. For...fun... <grits teeth at roan creature>

 

[soloequestrian]

It's more the squashing and that the pin (half inch thick metal) has sheared. It's pretty tough feeder (or was).
Ripping rugs is more their idea of fun *hollow laugh *

 

[TheHairyOne]

My herd managed to do something similar to theirs!

It involved jumping into the middle of it, semi failing to use it as a bounce therefore half flipping one side and my sister and i looking on with horror! Horse was fine.

We split it and put a wooden backing on each bit after that against the fence line.

Horses are idiots.