okay, thought it might be a bad idea.  I just wanted to see if others agreed.  But i am not a bad parent.  Thanks. THE END

IPG has a very good idea.  If there is a farm near you, have her volunteer to help clean stalls and such.  She can learn a lot that way.  I had a young girl do that here.  She started coming when she was 10.  She cleaned stalls and groomed in exchange for some riding time.  She is now 19 and off on her own, but she became quite a horsewoman.

Weanling/yearling colts are cute and fun.  But they are also a LOT of work.  And they are a lot stronger than they look.  Also unpredictable.  I once had a 6 month old colt kick me in the chest hard enough to knock me off my feet!

My advice would be to tell your daughter no, (for now) until she is a little older and gains a lot of knowledge.

RIDE ON!

Thanks.  I would, however, like to give a little more background on this.  Our daughter has been taking lessons for two years.  She would rather clean stalls, groom, and pick hooves over riding a lot of the time.  She had her first interaction with a foal at the riding stable, which is what has led to this possible purchase.  She knows how dangerous large animals can be and respects their space.  We have cattle.  She has helped feed calves when the mom wouldn't. And has helped halter break some for a future show cow.  However, I do know that their would be a lot more interaction with a foal. 

Nice to add information after you have gotten responses.

Foals are great at first- cute and silly. Then they are boring since there isn't much a kid or even an adult can do with them. They have to grow up. The have to be trained by someone who knows what it is they are asking for and then it can be a few years until the horse is steady enough to trust. If you don't understand this, you child certainly doesn't. A train wreck in the making.

I would be more concerned about a kid over an injustice to a horse anyday. A 9 year old ,who has been taking lesson( foal handling? i doubt it) since they were 7, is still a kid who has never actually trained a horse to do anything espcailly a young horse that knows nothing. Of course they think they can do something they really can't but thats what parents are for, knowing whats appropriate and whats not at a certain age and how much a child can take one. As stated above, foals are bigger and stronger,unpredictable, posing a danger to a small child.

I have seen this same senario played out many,many times and it never ends up well.

It appears to me that you already have horses since you say your youngest is 4!  I really don't see a problem with you getting a weanling.  Just make sure you have assistance when you come across a problem.  Make sure your young daughter is supervised when starting a new thing with him/her.   Also make sure EVERYONE realizes that this cute, cuddly little baby horse is a HORSE and not a large puppy.  It is very easy to "spoil" a baby anything but a horse is a horse and it will take advantage.  If you set some rules down, this should not be a problem. 

For those that think it is a bad idea .........  what about breeders?   Do you think that all people that breed horses don't have kids around?

Wow, sounds like you have really "rattled some cages"  with your question.  In reading the responses it seems like people are jumping to the conclusion that you are going to turn your daughter and the weanling loose and wish them well.  It sounds to me like you have resources available to you and your daughter for when you do run into problems / questions.  This sounds like a great learning experience for you both and what a wonderful way to spend time with your child. 

If the weanling you are considering for purchase is near enough to you perhaps the people selling her(him?) would be willing to work with the three of you together.

Good luck.

JacciB

Will your daughter be supervised with this baby at all times?  I only ask because I too was a youngster (at 9 and 10 and with horse experience) that was allowed to be with our babies.  A kid that young does not really have the ability to make consistent, long-term judgement calls.  I had quite a few run ins and luckily never got hurt too bad, but it was just luck that neither of us got hurt.  Also, I didn't understand that they may be cute when they are small but you can inadvertently teach them little habits that become dangerous in a matter of months... they grow fast and the object of the "game" becomes "who's the boss".  Just my 2 cents based on my experience....

For my two cents, I don't believe it's a good idea.  A 9 year old is not going to be strong enough or consistent enough to handle a weanling, even with supervision.  The weanling will more than likely learn bad habits and your daughter will likely get hurt, and the experience could scare her off of horses forever.  A friend of mine breeds and owns QH's...she has kids...and the kids are not allowed, ever, to work with the babies.  Once she is a few years older (12 or so), you may reconsider, but 9 to me is just too young.

It sounds as if you want an approval, for what you've already made up your mind to do. If you have followed this forum, you will find many knowledgeable people, who vary greatly in their views of different matters. Everyone's needs and ways of conducting his life will differ from another's. Because you haven't received the exact reply you want, doesn't mean you're a bad parent or bad anything.

You have to live your life as you want. If the advice of others interferes with your decisions, move on without it. However, when you ask for assistance, at least consider the experiences and wisdom of others who offer it, before you do so.

Gard

Gard....I received the response I expected, which is what I said when I posted the first question.  What I did not expect was to be "bashed" by "farmbabe" over this being a parenting issue. 

 I have already decided that IF we get this weanling, it will be at an establishment close to our home.  This is the place where my daughter originally took lessons and was introduced to the first foal.  I watched her every week go for her lesson.  At first, she could not get near the little guy.  The next week, she was able to touch him on his head. Every week she could not wait until she could get their to see him, to see how he was growing and changing. And how she was gradually being able to interact with him.  Then the day came when the owners had picked him up.  She is the type of girl that understand the "process".  However, that is all she has talked about for a year or so is getting her own baby.  It will not be a big issue if it doesn't live here, at our farm.  I suppose is what I have been able to determine from this forum is that she is too young, and I am too inexperienced to bring him here.  But I do think we are going to buy him.

My daughter is 27 and has been on and around horses every year of her life, plus the previous nine months before she was born. She's "owned" many ponies of increasingly larger sizes up to her two horses today. None of them were green. We purchased the best trained, "push button" animals we could find, and quickly rid ourselves of any that were problematic.

I have been slammed and pushed around by the newborn foals, weanlings and yearlings we have bred. My daughter was not allowed near them without severe restrictions, and at no time was she allowed to attempt any training. She rode only "her" horses, and participated in the necessary training of them for her competitions and trail riding.

I and my wife consider ourselves competent parents, and have endeavored to ensure her safety at every consideration. So far she has not had any injuries other than bumps and bruises. I guess that means we used some common sense and had a lot of luck.

I wish you the same good fortune

Gard

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I can't hold my tongue any longer as this train wreck approaches.

redman, I feel that you will quickly learn that this is not a wise choice buying a child a baby horse.  She won't be able to ride it, lead it or take it off the property safely.  What kind of fun is that for a little girl that should be off trail riding with her buddies on a bomb proof horse (that has more sense than she does)?

I personally won't work with or recommend a purchase to a client unless the child's age and the horses age add up as close to 20 as possible, with very few exceptions.  I feel that your "trainer" has suckered you into a very expensive mistake that you will discover as time passes. 

Your child's safety should be your number one priority, a weanling is the opposite of safety.

I have to agree with Huntseat and all the others advising against the proposed plan. However, I have to add "the other side of the story." I got my first horse, an ancient pony that I rode and drove (handmade single tree by my grandfather, attached to little red wagon (red flyer?). Got 2 more horses at age 7 and 8. One was sold....ran off with me, and I ended up in the dirt. At age 9 I got a 2 year old, Smoki, broke to ride and drive, no less. I would hitch him to a sulky type cart. We had some run aways......only told my parents about one in the sulky.....neighbor man witnessed it and thought I was going to be killed. Kept Smoki until the day he died at age 25. Got my first weanling at age 14...a stud colt, who was kept a stud until age 2, when he became too much for me to handle. However, I  trained him, and we had a very successful local show career, and in 4-H, he made it to states in the trail class as a 3 year old, with a 16 year old on him who was responsible for all his training from a weanling on. Kept him till the day he died at age 21. Yeah, had some exciting times with  ole' Banjo also. I was a very bold, confident little girl (some would say stubborn and hard headed :)), and did not know what a hard hat was, or what quit meant. We lived on a farm, and didn't know about trainers or clinics. I learned everything from reading and rereading lots of books. In retrospect, I can't recommend it, but I lived it and can't condemn.

Just my 2 cents!

Brenda

Green + Green= black & blue.  Don't put young kids and young horses together.  It sounds like your daugher has a great start with horses.  Don't let a traumatic experience ruin it.  Sure kids bounce when they fall off their horses in the arena, but a terrible accident can happen in a split second even with adult supervision.  Do you know WHY you're getting all these heated responses?  We have EXPERIENCE and don't want to see something bad happen to a yound child. We can't tell you what to do (heck, you ASKED for advice!) but just because the responses are not what you wanted to hear, don't take it personally.  Please consider your daugher's safety.  Perhaps buy her a well broke horse/pony of her choice.  She'd be safer and get more use out of it.  You can't do diddley with a foal/weanling.  If it's brushing and picking hooves that she likes, she can do that with a well broke horse/pony of her own.  With the horse market as cruddy as it is right now you can pick up a VERY nice broke animal for next to nothing.  Foals and weanlings are really money pits unless they are something extremely special.

Take all this advice for what it is...ADVICE.  You are the one to make the decision, and if it were me I'd tell my daughter that maybe for a 16th b-day present she could have her own weanling to train.  I wouldn't want my little girl to get hurt because I made a dumb decision after many MANY knowlegable individuals tried to dissuade me. 

Amanda

You were not bashed but you were given sound counsel , good advice and information. What you choose to do with it is up to you. However,if your going to ask for advice and counsel, get a tougher skin. I can understand how your 9 yr old can easily manipulate you.

Wow... What a great discussion!...  Raising children is like raising colts - both need discipline, patience, time and money...  If you are going to raise either one, you are going to set yourself up for a lot of criticism and opinion from the "outside".  No one can evaluate your child's ability to raise and train a colt just from some chat room dialogue.  No one can evaluate or predict the behaviour, disposition, and trainability of the colt from a few lines in an email. 

You know your kid and if you are truly horse savvy, you should know the colt's potential.  If you have the money to play this game, you should be able to enlist the help of an experienced professional to teach both your child and your colt.  If you are willing to risk injury to both (child and colt), then you may not need a professional.

You're the grownup.  You should make the decision without taking offense at opinions that you solicited on this thread.

Having had my jaw broken by a PONY weanling, I have to side with all who are against this.  The very fact your daughter is only 9 is a HUGE red flag.  I have been around horses 40+ yrs, have shown, been working trackside as a pony rider, and groom.  I can tell you from experience a weanling is not a good "project".  They are very time consuming, need lots of repetition and consistant training from experienced horse people.  A 9 yr old even supervised, is not going to be consistant enough, strong enough, and as others stated, will allow bad habits to form.

It does appear you have already made up your mind, the best thing for you is to get a good life insurance policy and make sure your medical is up to date.

Weanlings is strong, and VERY unpredictible.  The pony weanling who broke my jaw was only 4 mos old and was a shetland.  Yet she was quick and strong enough to whirl around and nail me in the jaw.  It can happen that fast. 

I wish you luck, because I also believe it is a train wreck waiting to happen.