We have a split rail fence around our yard. We have small dogs so we also have a plastic coated wire fencing that we have wrapped around it and stapled to the wooden rails.
We have to weed wack - and wacking that metal fencing really eats up the nylon line. The fence was there when we moved in. Hubby says he wishes we installed it because he would have rented a turf cutter and cut out the area where the fence would go and just hit it with mulch and weed-b-gone.