Albert's cousin Billy, with whom Albert competes with before the war, is given a knife by his father and told, "let this knife protect you as it did me and my father." He ends up being shot after being taken prisoner because he possessed a knife.There's also the fact that Joey was originally intended to be Billy's horse, before Ted bought him. Billy ultimately rides him into battle.Albert remarks that he and Joey are both lucky - which may be true, but nearly everyone around them dies, especially the multiple parties that briefly possess Joey, so it doesn't rub off very well.