proverb · Words worth keeping
It’s no use closing the stable door, after the horse has bolted.
It’s no use closing the stable door, after the horse has bolted.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying closes a stable door after the horse has escaped. As an analogy, a preventive action arrives too late for the event it was meant to stop.
What the words are saying
After gives the missed timing a clear sequence. A useful application can distinguish prevention from repair while recognising that later changes may prevent recurrence. The phrase should not imply that every action taken after a setback is useless.
Everyday example
A team acknowledges a missed precaution and improves the process to reduce the chance of another incident.
When to use it
Use it to distinguish late prevention from useful repair and future prevention.
What it does not mean
Later action may still be valuable; no animal-handling method is supplied.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 268; PDF page 42
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.