War Horse

Two years pass, and the bond between Joey and Albert has only strengthened. Albert spends his spare time training Joey to walk, run, trot, and lunge. Joey learns to come to Albert at the sound of his whistle, which “imitate[s] the stuttering call of an owl—it [is] a sound [Joey] never refused and [he] would never forget” (8). The two are inseparable, loyal friends.

Albert’s father mostly leaves Joey in peace, although he never can regain Joey’s trust after their first encounter. Father proves not to “be the monster [Joey] had expected” (9), except on Tuesdays, when he regularly gets drunk. Albert takes extra precaution with the horses on these days, finding reasons to be in the stables to prevent his father from causing them any harm.

One such Tuesday, Albert leaves Joey in Zoey’s stable when he leaves to ring the bells at a nearby church. He hopes that they will be safer together if Father should come while he is gone, but this does not prove to be the case. When Albert is gone, Father enters the stable and staggers towards Joey with a whip in his hand. He tells Joey that the other farmers don’t believe he can tame his horse, so he bet that he will have trained Joey to plow the farm by week’s end. Father raises his whip toward Joey, but before he can strike, Joey turns and kicks Father in the leg. Father “[crawls] out of the stable door, dragging one leg stiffly behind him and muttering words of cruel vengeance” (11).

Joey’s actions nearly cost him his life—only Mother’s pleading with Father saves him in the end. Father demands that if Albert wants to keep Joey, he must train the horse himself in one week. If Joey loses the bet, Father will sell him. Albert, knowing that Father is “a man of his word […] as long as he’s sober” (15), takes the challenge ahead of him quite seriously. For the first time ever, he is strict with Joey, losing all traces of his usual gentleness that the horse has come to know and love about his master. However, he is successful, and by week’s end, Albert’s training wins the bet, and Joey remains on the farm.

Meanwhile, whispers of war are in the air, and Albert expresses his desire to join if it should come to that. He praises Joey’s potential as a war horse, saying, “We’d make quite a pair. God help the Germans if they ever have to fight the two of us” (15). The chapter ends with Father bringing home news that will change their lives forever: Britain has declared war on Germany.

The family does not immediately feel the effects of the war, but the tensions among them (particularly between Albert and Father) bring a different kind of trouble to the home. When Albert begins riding Joey, the horse needs little coaxing to do as Albert wishes. Joey feels that Albert can ride him “even without that, so well did [they] come to understand each other” (18). Father, meanwhile, resents the horse he bought out of spite that is too strong-spirited for him to tame on his own.

Father’s regret about purchasing Joey is not merely a matter of pride but financial strain. Zoey can work the farm on her own, but the expenses of keeping Joey are hard for Father to justify. When Albert criticizes Father’s attitude toward Joey and his drinking habit, Mother defends him. She tells him that Father took out a mortgage years ago so Albert could “have a farm of [his] own” (18) and “it’s the mortgage that worries him sick and makes him drink” (19). Mother pleads with Albert to see the good in Father but soon takes over as a go-between for the two, who rarely speak to each other.

One Wednesday, the night after Father had again returned home drunk, Albert is told to return a boar the family had borrowed. Albert objects to the errand, which Father was supposed to have run the night before, but Mother persuades him to go. While he is away, Father sneaks into the barn with a sack of oats and coaxes Joey out of the stall. As he leads him away, Father apologizes to Joey for having to sell him, but he desperately needs the money.

Father leads Joey away silently, “speaking in a hushed voice and looking around him like a thief” (23). He knows Joey will “follow old Zoey because he rope[s him] up to her saddle and [leads them] both quietly out of the yard down the path and over the bridge” (23) to the nearest British military camp. There, Joey finds himself surrounded by several motorcars and dozens of men in uniforms next to their horses.

A kind-faced officer, Captain Nicholls, approaches Father and Joey. He “smoothe[s Joey’s] neck gently and scratche[s him] behind [his] ears” (25) as he and Father discuss the payment they’ve arranged. Father’s voice is urgent and hushed as he asks for the 40 pounds Nicholls offered, insisting that he “can’t let him go for a penny less. A man’s got to live” (25). Nicholls assures him that he will receive the full amount promised as soon as the military vet inspects Joey. Joey shouts back to old Zoey “to reassure her for [he feels] no fear at this moment. [He is] too interested in what was going on around [him]” (26).

Captain Nicholls leads Joey to the vet, who gives him a full bill of health. He brings Joey back to Father, handing him the money. Father “reache[s] out and brushe[s Joey’s] nose with his hand. There [are] tears filling his eyes” (27), and for the first time, Joey sees Father in a different light..

It is not until Father says goodbye to Joey that he realizes he is being abandoned. Joey grows anxious and “[has] just about given up all hope, when [he sees] Albert running toward [him] through the crowd, his face red with exertion” (28). Albert is too late, and the Captain tells him the sale is final. Albert bargains with Captain Nicholls, asking to join the army to stay with Joey, but the Captain insists that Albert is too young. Nicholls promises Albert that he’ll take care of Joey for him. He tells Albert, “You should be proud of him—he’s a fine, fine horse, but your father needed the money for the farm, and a farm won’t run without money” (29). Albert says a tearful goodbye to Joey, promising to find him again one day.