Young farm animal initially swimming lake during trial (9)
I believe the answer is:
shearling
'young farm animal' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'initially swimming lake during trial' is the wordplay.
'initially' suggests taking the first letters.
'lake' becomes 'L' (geographical abbreviation).
'during' is an insertion indicator.
'trial' becomes 'hearing' (as in a court hearing).
The first letter of 'swimming' is 's'.
'l' going inside 'hearing' is 'hearling'.
's'+'hearling'='SHEARLING'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Another definition for shearling that I've seen is " it's been fleeced".)