This article analyzes how the horse story setting problematizesthe conception of the good mother and normative mothering, by elucidatinghow the gazes of the young main characters on their mothers function inrelation to the notion of the good mother, how this influences the motheringand how the mothering characters challenge this notion. Mothering is seenhere as caring practices, which can be performed by people other than moth-ers. The analysis of three horse story series by Pia Hagmar, the books onKlara (1999–2008), the books on Millan (2012–2014) and the books on Juli(2019–2021), shows that the series depict motherhood and mothering at theintersection between the conception of the good mother and the good horseperson. The common denominator is nurturing traits that make personalneeds take the back seat – for the traditional good mother to the benefit ofher children, for the good horse person to the benefit of the horse. Hagmarnormalizes the presence of several mothering characters in addition to theirmothers around the horse girls. Furthermore, these characters, who func-tion as mothering variations, contribute to the creation of a solid caringenvironment, reducing the demands on mothers who try to be everythingto their children. Although the daughters’ views of their mothers are some-times critical, Hagmar allows the mothers to be imperfect, partly incompe-tent, or simply women with their own agency,interests and needs outside ofmotherhood. In addition, a mother-daughter relationship built on a commoninterest in horses allows for a friendship with a common focus – the horse.