Albert's father selling Joey (Dramatic Irony)
Albert's father sells Joey to the military in order to make money and to preserve the future of the farm for Albert. This action is ironic because he only succeeds in driving Albert away from the farm: Albert enlists at the earliest possible opportunity in order to find Joey. Thus, by trying to give Albert the farm, his father actually ends up taking it away from him.
Joey as a "Prisoner of War" (Verbal Irony)
When Joey's regiment is defeated and captured, Joey effectively becomes a "prisoner of war." This is ironic because his "prison," a farm, reminds him of home. Under the joint supervision of Emilie and the Germans, Joey is taken care of gently and with love—quite the opposite treatment than that which the term "prisoner" connotes.
Albert Searching for Joey (Dramatic Irony)
Albert enlisted in the military so that he could be reunited with Joey; throughout Albert's time in France, the young man seeks, but does not find, his cherished horse. The ironic thing about this scenario is that Albert finds Joey when least expected—in fact, Albert finds him when he is not paying any attention at all. It is his friend who finds Joey—another instance of irony, because Albert's friends were starting to think that the horse Albert spoke of constantly did not exist.
The Soldiers' Agreement (Dramatic Irony)
When Joey is stuck in No Man's Land, the German soldiers wave the white flag of truce in order to free him. The two sides then go to cooperate quite effectively until Joey is safely with the British soldier who won possession of the horse. The irony of this episode is actually very sad: in this conflict, the soldiers on each side are told to hate each other and that their opponents are inherently evil when, as becomes apparent, they are very similar. This reveals that these men are shooting at each other over issues that they don't really understand, even though they work together peacefully when a meaningful objective is set in front of them.
