username: Stumpy STMP
name: Endless Beginnings a.k.a. Improva
gender: Mare
answer: Her markings look like the small icicles that form on the edge of our roof during winter. I live in Canada so frozen water is a constant around here, it can make things beautiful though. The markings also remind me of what happens when rocks have cracks and the water gets inside before freezing. When it freezes it expands pushing the cracks so they become bigger. It is what happens to our roads all the time. So in a way it represents the opportunity to have a fresh start, go from being rough around the edges to smooth and new once again. Water is often viewed as a cleansing thing, or the bringer of changes. In Shakespeare's King Lear there is a well noted scene in which Lear is raging at the storm, he hasn't yet acknowledged his own frailty or mortality thinking he has all the power because he once held the title King. When he emerges from the storm he is a changed man now seeing his own mental instability. This storm is also viewed as a divine justice, as the entire world is angry with Lear for bringing such madness into the kingdom. To me this mares markings represent that stage of metamorphosis right before what was old becomes newer, stronger, and beautiful. Everything has to get worse before it can get better, and in the end is completely worth it.