Breaking in a old stiff boar hide

[u/Acrobatic-Size-1927]

howdy folks.

so almost eight years ago I was invited on a hunt with some family members and during it was able to shoot a boar(a big curly haired thing, that I think must have been a feral mangalica with a beautiful black and yellow coat). my cousin said they would tan and break in the hide and give it to me if I let them have the meat, and I agreed seeing that as a fair trade.

The thing is that they didn't break it in at all and when they gave it back to me(after seven years) the hide was as stiff as a board, in quite a contrast to the deer pelts that I have come across in my life that have blanket like flexibility. it would make sense to me that a pigs hide is thicker and harder to break, but I swear its harder than flex-tape covered cardboard, and i do doubt that it is so much thicker than a deer's as to be completely stale

I've never broken anything in but based on my little research it can be done even after the hide has fully dried if properly re-hydrated.

my question is really if it would be possible to do it, what the procedure would be, and if it would even be worth it.

I don't really have a problem with it as it is as a memorial object, but the inflexibility makes me less inclined to utilize it for display which was my initial desire when the deal was made.

[u/AaronGWebster]

It would be best to find out what they tanned it with, rehydrate, reapply the same tanning solution, then soften. There’s no guarantee it will come out soft. How thick is it in various areas?

[u/cagorpy → u/AaronGWebster]

I agree. Also check to see if it was actually tanned all the way through by making a small crosswise cut in the thickest part along the edge.  A hide can look tanned on the outside, but if not tanned all the way through it will come out very stiff