Mi hija quiere acariciar a la yegua negra.

Because mi is a possessive adjective, and it goes directly before the noun:

• mi hija = my daughter

Mía is a possessive pronoun, used when the noun is not repeated:

• Esta hija es mía = This daughter is mine

So before a noun, you use mi, not mía.

In Spanish, possessive adjectives like mi, tu, su, nuestro usually replace the article.

So Spanish says:

• mi hija not
• la mi hija ✘

This is different from English only in form, not in meaning. It simply means my daughter.

Because after querer (to want), Spanish normally uses an infinitive for the next verb.

Pattern:

• querer + infinitive

Examples:

• Quiero comer = I want to eat
• Quiere dormir = He/She wants to sleep
• Mi hija quiere acariciar... = My daughter wants to pet...

Only quiere is conjugated because it matches the subject mi hija.
Acariciar stays in the infinitive.

That a is the personal a.

Spanish often uses a before a direct object when that object is:

• a person
• a pet or animal treated as an individual
• something personified or emotionally important

Here, la yegua negra is an animal, and Spanish commonly uses the personal a with animals in this kind of context:

• acariciar a la yegua
• ver a mi perro
• llamar a la gata

It does not mean to here. It is just a grammatical marker.

Because yegua is a feminine noun. It means mare (an adult female horse).

So the words that go with it must agree in gender and number:

• la yegua
• yegua negra

This is called agreement.

Compare:

• el caballo negro = the black horse / black male horse
• la yegua negra = the black mare

Yegua means mare, specifically a female horse.

Related words:

• caballo = horse / stallion / male horse, depending on context
• yegua = mare
• potro = foal / colt in some contexts

So yegua is more specific than just horse.

In Spanish, most descriptive adjectives usually come after the noun.

So:

• la yegua negra = the black mare
• la casa blanca = the white house
• un coche rojo = a red car

This is the normal word order.

Sometimes adjectives can go before the noun, but that often changes the tone or emphasis. For basic description, after the noun is the safest choice.

Quiere is the third person singular of querer in the present tense.

The subject is mi hija, which is she, so Spanish uses the he/she/it form:

• yo quiero
• tú quieres
• él/ella quiere
• nosotros queremos

So:

• Mi hija quiere = My daughter wants

Yes. That is also correct.

You can replace a la yegua negra with the direct object pronoun la:

• Mi hija quiere acariciarla = My daughter wants to pet her/it

With a verb structure like querer + infinitive, the object pronoun can often go in two places:

1. before the conjugated verb
   • Mi hija la quiere acariciar
2. attached to the infinitive
   • Mi hija quiere acariciarla

Both are correct. The original sentence is just the full version with the noun stated explicitly.

In standard Spain Spanish, acariciar is pronounced approximately:

• a-ka-ri-thyar

The important part is the ci:

• In most of Spain, c before e or i sounds like th in think
• So ci sounds like thya / thia, depending on the speaker

Rough breakdown:

• a-ca-ri-ciar
• a-ka-ri-thyar

In much of Latin America, that same ci would sound more like s.

In Spain Spanish, yegua is roughly:

• YEH-gwa

Notes:

• ye- sounds like ye in yes
• gua sounds like gwa
• The stress is on the first syllable: YE-gua

So:

• yegua → YEH-gwa

Because Spanish often drops subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear.

Instead of saying:

• Ella quiere acariciar a la yegua negra

Spanish very naturally says:

• Mi hija quiere acariciar a la yegua negra

And even if the subject were already known, Spanish could simply say:

• Quiere acariciar a la yegua negra

The verb form quiere already tells you it is he/she/it. Spanish usually avoids repeating subject pronouns unless they are needed for emphasis or contrast.