Anonymous wrote:My five year old wanted to be a tiger a few years ago. Now he wants to be a ninja. Not researching ninja colleges at this point.

Of course not, but you might sign him up for a martial arts class. Nothing wrong with encouraging and supporting an interest.

Anonymous wrote:Well, first of all, raising and breeding horses is not something you can just pick up quickly as an adult, with no training or connections or knowledge. Breeding/bloodlines is both an art and a science. It takes years to understand well.

Also, you can't pick up riding as an adult and ever expect to be excellent at it.

I grew up on a horse farm. I have never seen an adult "take up" riding and progress to a competitive, professional level. I have never seen an adult with no experience working with horses (I don't just mean cleaning stalls at someone's stable as a child) ever arrive at a competent professional working knowledge that would enable them to run an equine facility themselves.

So the first step is riding lessons now, with an excellent trainer at a competent commercial stable.

A teen with no long-time training in equestrian sports and the breeding/show world saying she is going to "own a horse ranch" for an adult career is the equivalent of a teen who has had a handful of ballet classes and gone to see Nutcracker every year saying she is going to be a professional prima ballerina someday.

Well, first of all, raising and breeding horses is not something you can just pick up quickly as an adult, with no training or connections or knowledge. Breeding/bloodlines is both an art and a science. It takes years to understand well.

Also, you can't pick up riding as an adult and ever expect to be excellent at it.

I grew up on a horse farm. I have never seen an adult "take up" riding and progress to a competitive, professional level. I have never seen an adult with no experience working with horses (I don't just mean cleaning stalls at someone's stable as a child) ever arrive at a competent professional working knowledge that would enable them to run an equine facility themselves.

So the first step is riding lessons now, with an excellent trainer at a competent commercial stable.

My five year old wanted to be a tiger a few years ago. Now he wants to be a ninja. Not researching ninja colleges at this point.

Have you explored 4-H? Also, there are a lot of farms, both for livestock and agricultural, in Maryland and Virginia so your daughter may be able to explore her interests in this region.

When some of the county fairs start popping up (a ways away, I know) perhaps you can go and talk to the parents/kids who are exhibiting and you may be able to network your way into some opportunities for your daughter to have some interesting experiences. You could do some of the same thing with local farms that have self-pick operations - visit and talk to the owners about their experiences. Most of them love to talk to people about what they're doing (but maybe not on the busiest day at the busiest hour if you get what I mean0.

FWIW my cousin and her husband own/operate a very successful and sizable livestock ranch with a little agricultural too in the Mid-West. It is not a life for the faint-hearted. Their children have 2-3 hours of chores to do before they head out the door to school. My cousin and her husband have a 24-7 responsibility for the ranch. It is hard for them to go on vacation even with multiple levels of ranch and farm managers as well as the ranch hands. They love the lifestyle but it is all hands on deck all the time.

On the other hand, dreams are good and frequently dreams of one thing manifest into something else that may be related so keep encouraging your girl to dream!

What did you want to be when you were 11, OP? I wanted to be an archeologist but ended up being a lawyer.

Stop worrying about your dd’s career path when she is 11. Help her finish and enjoy 5 or 6 grade.

You quit helicoptering and snowplowing. You let them follow their dreams, fail, and succeed.

Agree w/ the PPs that you can keep encouraging her to volunteer in outdoor experiences, lessons to develop as a rider (I assume she's already doing horseback riding?), maybe take family vacations to ranches. When she's in HS, look into summer programs at colleges that have agriculture programs and a job at a barn.

Since you are in MD, you could take her to the annual open house at UMD, Maryland Day. It's next weekend: https://marylandday.umd.edu/ Their agriculture school has a Agricultural Business Management and Leadership program that might make sense for someone who wants to run a ranch.

Keep her volunteering and explore the ranch options lovely the pp said. For career path,
If she wants to be a business owner then she should study business,
Financial management etc. it's hard to be a small business owner, she should learn all she can about the boring momeynside and how to make it and then she can run anything ranch, farm etc.

I have a friend who owns a ranch in Wyoming. Your daughter can get a summer job on a ranch when she’s older. There’s a program in Equine Studies at Wyoming State.

You're wondering about colleges for an 11 year old?

I agree with other posters that she is still very young. Encourage her to dream and to share her dreams with you but don't be too eager to put her on the only path you see right now.

Also, FWIW, because there are so few vet schools, it is much more competitive to get into vet school than med school. I don't think you share this with your daughter in a threatening or heavy-handed way; however, it is something to know and to mention occasionally. When you do discuss it then you should also frankly, but positively, talk about how one does gain entrance into a highly competitive school/program.

Her desire to have a horse ranch at 11 has no connection to college.

Let her do some research on the costs / maintenance of ranches and support her in this dream through practical planning.

Keep college out of the picture. It is unrelated.

You don't need to do anything at all to help her. She's 11 and dreaming about when she's an adult. Just give a little "that sounds nice, dear" type of answer when she dreams out loud and let her evolve.

Hi,

I have an 11 year old daughter who's an animal lover. Aren't they all? She's very smart, talented, and beautiful. Aren't they all?

Anyway, her goal is to have a horse ranch someday, which I can't really help with. I live in Maryland, and I'm originally from NYC, and I wouldn't know a ranch from an iceberg. I won't have the resources to buy a ranch, and my daughter knows that.

I've tried to steer her towards Vet school, thinking that would be make sense, that she could be the vet in a small town or rural area, and that she could buy some land and start her ranch that way. However, she doesn't want to do all the yucky stuff, surgeries, etc.

Any ideas regarding how I can help at this point? My daughter's ok with her dream ranch being in Wyoming, North Dakota, etc. I'm interested in any colleges that offer programs that might steer her on her way. She's been volunteering at a local farm, but there must be more she can do. At this point, I'd say "get a degree in Animal Science or something and an MBA to teach you how to run a farm/ranch."

And yes, I realize that she may do a 180 and end up on a completely different path, but you have to have a plan, even if we know what happens to plans.

Thanks for your help.