preparing deer hair

I did a search and came up empty. Can anyone out there tell me what to
do with a tail to make it ready for tying? I know, I could just go buy
one, but there's no fly shop close and I have access to a tail from the
last deer of the season sitting in the freezer. (did I cut off all the
"why bother?" questions) So, what do I need to do to the tail so that
I can use the hair (assuming I don't want to dye it)? And, if you
happen to know of some good instructions on how to dye it also, that
would be appreciated. But first, do I need to cure it or something?
Total newb.