If you do use hemlock, use it right away. When it’s “green,” it’s soft and easy to cut (although juicy), and easy to nail or put screws in. Once it’s dry, it’s like rock, and it does splinter.
We used it for stall walls years ago, and it certainly was tough. Didn’t get chewed anything like as much as the pine.
You could do the boards in hemlock and then do a top rail in ironwood.
I have 2" Hemlock boards in my barn and have had since 1994. It’s held up absolutely perfectly and there has been minimal chewing. Most of the chewing has been on the softwood trim the contractor used on some parts of the structure.
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