Boy, I don't know. If she's pretty and likes increasing pain........as it dries, you know.
The only thing I can vaguely recall might be for making shapes. Seems like I recall that the shape of a saddle horn was formed with rawhide then covered with the finish leather. I might be wrong, a saddle is about the one thing I never made. Even back in the early 80's when I did alot a saddle woulda been about $500 for a "tree" and enough skins to do one, a tree was a wooden form the a western saddle was built on.
That memory is from reading the books.
Rawhide is untanned/untreated and is unpliable limiting it's uses. It also does not preserve as well.
Chew toys is one of the biggest uses today I think. Got me stumped.
I also remember it was used as a webbing for snowshoes but was always coated in varnish or some sealer to keep it from breaking down.