War Horse recap

Farm boy Albert Narracott raises a horse named Joey, but his indebted father sells Joey to the British cavalry at the start of the First World War. Joey serves under Captain Nicholls, befriends the black horse Topthorn, and passes through battles and several owners after both horses are captured by the Germans. They pull ambulances and artillery, find temporary peace with a French girl named Emilie and her grandfather, and endure the deaths of soldiers and horses around them. Topthorn dies from exhaustion, and Joey escapes into no man's land, where British and German soldiers cooperate to rescue him. Taken to a British veterinary unit, he is recognized by Albert, who enlisted in hopes of finding him. After the war, Emilie's grandfather saves Joey from a butcher at auction and allows Albert to take him home. Joey returns to Devon with Albert, their long separation finally ended.

Joey, a young red-bay horse, is bought at a Devon auction by farmer Ted Narracott, whose drinking and pride have pushed him to pay more than the family can afford. Ted's son Albert patiently gentles the frightened horse, names him, and becomes his trusted companion. With help from the older farm horse Zoey, Albert trains Joey to work the land as well as carry a rider. Their success saves Joey from being sold, but the farm remains under financial pressure. When the First World War begins, Ted sells Joey to the army without Albert's knowledge. Captain Nicholls buys him for the cavalry and promises the devastated Albert that he will care for him. Albert is too young to enlist, so Joey leaves for military service while the boy vows that they will meet again.

Joey trains with Captain Nicholls and meets Topthorn, a powerful black horse ridden by Captain Stewart. Competition turns into a close bond between the horses. Sent to France, the cavalry confronts wire, machine guns, and artillery that make its traditional tactics disastrously vulnerable. Captain Nicholls is killed in a charge, and the anxious Trooper Warren becomes Joey's rider. Joey's steadiness helps Warren, while Topthorn remains his constant companion. In another action the horses carry Warren and Stewart into enemy positions and are captured by German troops. A German officer recognizes their value and spares them. With their British riders taken prisoner, Joey and Topthorn are harnessed to pull an ambulance, beginning a new period of service on the other side of the lines.

Joey and Topthorn pull wounded men for the Germans and are treated with respect by soldiers who see how hard they work. Gunther, desperate to protect his younger brother Michael from being sent toward the front, uses the horses to escape with him. The brothers hide with Joey and Topthorn but are found and shot for desertion, leaving the horses unattended. They wander to a French farm belonging to a young girl, Emilie, and her grandfather. Emilie, whose family has been devastated by the war, gives the horses affection and careful attention. For a time the farm offers peace, food, and safety. Emilie's health is fragile, and her grandfather worries about the depth of her attachment, but he also sees that caring for Joey and Topthorn restores some of her happiness. The war remains nearby, making their refuge uncertain.

German troops requisition Joey and Topthorn from Emilie's farm and put them to work hauling heavy artillery. The labor is relentless, with inadequate food, deep mud, and brutal weather wearing down the teams. Friedrich, a German soldier who cares for the horses, confides that he is no natural warrior and tries to shield them where he can. Topthorn's great strength cannot last indefinitely. He collapses and dies, leaving Joey beside the companion who has shared nearly all his wartime life. Soon afterward a shell kills Friedrich. Terrified and alone during the bombardment, Joey runs. He encounters a tank, flees across shattered ground, and becomes caught and injured in barbed wire in no man's land, stranded between the opposing trenches with neither side initially able to reach him.

A British soldier and a German soldier emerge under a temporary truce to free Joey from the wire. Working together, they cut him loose and settle which side will take him with a coin toss. The British soldier wins, and Joey is led into the British lines. His wounds and exhausted condition send him to a veterinary hospital, where the staff also identify a serious illness and begin treatment. Albert, now old enough to serve, has joined the veterinary corps and has continued looking for Joey despite having little reason to expect success. At the hospital Joey hears the distinctive call Albert used on the farm and responds. Albert recognizes Joey's markings and manner, and the two are reunited. With Albert and his friend David helping care for him, Joey begins the difficult recovery that may allow both of them to survive the war.

Joey recovers under Albert's care, and the war finally ends. The soldiers expect the surviving horses to go home, but the army decides to auction them in France. Albert's comrades pool their money so he can bid for Joey. A butcher drives the price upward, threatening Joey with slaughter, until an elderly French farmer wins the auction. The buyer is Emilie's grandfather. Emilie has died, and he has searched for Joey because of her love for the horse and her wish that he be safe. After hearing Albert's story and seeing their bond, the grandfather agrees that Joey belongs with him. He lets Albert take Joey in exchange for the promise that Emilie will be remembered. Albert and Joey return to Devon, where the family receives them and Albert later marries Maisie. Their partnership resumes at home, marked by the people and horses they lost along the way.

In a British veterinary hospital, Joey hears Albert's familiar call and answers it, reuniting horse and owner after years of separation. Albert helps nurse him through illness and injury. When the war ends, the army announces that its surviving horses will be sold in France rather than shipped home. Albert and his comrades raise money to buy Joey, but a butcher bids against them. Emilie's grandfather outbids the butcher. He has searched for Joey because Emilie, who has died, loved the horse and asked that he be found. Once he understands Albert's bond with Joey, he lets Albert take him home in return for a promise to keep Emilie's memory alive. Joey returns to Devon, where Albert's parents welcome him and Albert eventually marries Maisie. The reunion restores the partnership broken when Joey was sold, while the memories of Topthorn, Emilie, Friedrich, and the many others lost to the war remain part of Joey's homecoming.