bolted Idioma

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Close the stable door after the horse has bolted

If people try to fix something after the problem has occurred, they are trying to close the stable door after the horse has bolted. 'Close the barn door after the horse has bolted' is alternative, often used in American English.

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Lock the stable door after the horse has bolted

If someone takes action too late, they do this; there is no reason to lock an empty stable.

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lock the barn door after the horse has bolted

lock the barn door after the horse has bolted
Also, lock the stable door after the horse is stolen. Take precautions after damage has occurred. For example, After the burglary they installed an alarm system, but it's locking the barn door, or Deciding to negotiate now after they've been fired—that's a matter of locking the stable door after the horse is stolen. These expressions of action that is useless because it comes too late have long been proverbs in many languages and first appeared in English in the mid-1300s.