Split-rail fence

In turn, Finnish split-rail fencing can be traced to Savonian–Karelian Finns and the Sámi people.

For the enclosure of livestock such as cows and sheep, a four-foot (1.2 m) high fence using four rails is sufficient.

Buck-and-rail fencing was ubiquitous in battlefields in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, because of the proximity of forested land and their ease of construction.

These split rail fences were a major source of firewood for both the Union and Confederate armies.

[3] Buck-and-rail fences can keep larger animals in or out, while smaller wildlife can pass through them easily, and they can be readily climbed over by people.

In the United Kingdom (and increasingly in suburban America) a different style of split-rail fence is used.

This is not free-standing but consists of vertical posts placed in the ground, having holes (mortises) in each side into which the roughly pointed ends of split rails (usually of sweet chestnut) are placed.