Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas to regulate sugar metabolism. In Diabetes Mellitus (Type I) the pancreas produces little or no insulin, so patients are wholly insulin dependent; with the more common Type II Diabetes, there’s plenty of insulin but the body’s cells become resistant to its function. All diabetes patients (Types I and II) need to worry about the possibility of additional health complications like heart disease or nerve damage.When your diet is full of sugar (alcohol, fizzy drinks, cordial, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, sweet-tasting cereals), your cells become resistant to the effects of insulin. They need more insulin to manage the same amount of sugar. To manage your insulin levels, the solution is simple: fresh food that you have to cook. This way of eating may influence the right genes and promote a healthy metabolism. Limit ready-made food that comes from boxes, jars or cans.

So what should you eat?Vegetables (broccoli, green beans, spinach, cabbage, brussel sprouts, peppers, aubergines, leeks, onions) nuts, seeds, whole grains (oats, wholemeal bread wholemeal pasta, brown rice), olive oil, good sources of protein (chicken, turkey, salmon, mackerel, chickpeas, lentils, organic free-range eggs). Many of these foods contain the vitamins and minerals necessary for insulin control and blood sugar balance, such as magnesium and chromium.

Daily tips for improving blood sugar control:

1. Eat protein with each meal and snack. Try a boiled egg or 1 tbsp of almonds with breakfast, 1 tbsp of hummous with a rye cracker as a snack.

2. Eat something every 3-4 hours to keep your insulin and glucose levels normal.

3. Avoid foods containing white flour and sugar, such as white breads, white pasta, white rice, sweet-tasting cereals flour, bagels, biscuits, cakes and fizzy drinks.

4. Eat whole grains (oats, wholemeal bread, wholemeal pasta, brown rice) chickpeas, lentils, vegetables and ground flaxseed. Foods rich in fibre are important. Fibre slows the absorption of sugar from our digestive tract into the bloodstream. Aim to eat up to 30g of fibre daily.

5. Get moving. Excercise is critical to improving sugar metabolism. Walking for 30 mins after dinner is a powerful way to reduce blood sugar.

Vanilla Pannacotta

Serves 6 to 8
Gluten-free and Wheat-free

The natural sweetness of cream and the flavour of the vanilla are sufficient to make this taste like it contains sugar. This is a basic pannacotta recipe but you can experiment with different flavours; swap the vanilla for 8 leaves of lemon verbena or mint, the zest of 2 lemons or 1 tbsp of lavender buds.

500 ml cream
150ml milk
3 vanilla beans, split lengthwise, seeds scraped
6 tablespoons cold water
Leaves of gelatine (leaves of gelatine vary in size so follow instructions on back of packet to set 650ml of liquid)

First, soak the gelatine leaves in a small bowl with cold water. In a medium saucepan, heat the cream, milk and vanilla beans (cut the vanilla beans lengthwise and scrape out the vanilla seeds, add both to the mixture).

Bring just to the boil, remove from heat, cover and let steep for 15 minutes. Using a fine mesh sieve strain the mixture into a medium-sized bowl.

Squeeze out the gelatine leaves gently (throw away the water) and add them with to the cream. Return to a gentle heat and stir slowly until dissolved.

Let it cool slightly in the saucepan, until the gelatine begins to harden. Give it a stir and pour into dariole moulds, small ramekins or glasses. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

When ready to serve briefly lower the moulds into a pan of hot water and turn out on to the serving plate. Garnish with berries, fruit coulis or a mint leaf.

Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Hummous

Serves 6 to 8 as an appetizer
Gluten-free (use Tamari sauce), Wheat-free and Dairy-free

This variation on traditional hummous is a wonderful vibrant colour. It makes a great snack with triangles of warm wholemeal pitta bread, oatcakes or raw vegetables for dipping.

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2” cubes
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
1/2 tsp of turmeric
875ml water
290g red lentils
1 tbsp soya or tamari sauce (available from health food store)
60ml lemon juice
Chopped fresh coriander

Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occa-sionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.

Add garlic, sweet potato, cumin, paprika and turmeric and cook for 1 to 2 mins more. Stir in water and lentils and bring to boil.

Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes until lentils and sweet potatoes are soft. Strain and transfer contents of pot to a large bowl to cool.

Transfer lentil mixture to a food processor along with soya or tamari sauce, lemon juice, salt and pepper and purée until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl and garnish with coriander and a drizzle with a little oil.

Banana and Oat Cookies

24 cookies
Wheat-free, Dairy-free and Low GI

These cookies contain no added sugar or sweeteners. Instead bananas sweeten and bind the mixture. On average these cookies contain about 8.5g of sugars per 100g. Oats, coconut, almonds and walnuts slow the absorption of sugar and are considered low GI. Some research suggests that although fructose and many sweeteners may not affect blood glucose levels, they may alter blood fat levels, so it is important to keep all forms of sugar to a minimum. Always eat sweeter foods alongside protein and some ‘good’ fats to reduce their affect on your blood sugar levels.

The dough is quite loose, so for a more uniform-sized cookie I have also made these cookies in mini-muffin trays.

3-4 (300g) large bananas, well mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract
60ml coconut oil, barely warm  so it isn’t solid (or use olive oil)
190g porridge oats
50g ground almonds
25g unsweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 pinches of salt
1 tsp baking powder
50g walnuts, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 180°C. In a bowl whisk together the bananas, vanilla extract, and coconut oil. In another bowl mix together the oats, almond meal, walnuts, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined.

Drop dollops of the dough, each about 1 dsp in size, an inch apart, onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 14 minutes in the top third of the oven, until lightly browned.

High fibre foods like whole cereals and beans are becoming more popular, albeit sometimes grudgingly, as are low calorie foods like mushrooms, but a comparatively recent entry into the field is DHC, a non-hot version of the capsinoid that gives chilli peppers their kick. This chilli extract is showing some promise as it increases energy and fat oxidation and so helps to manage weight.

Champions of chilli extract claim that it burns more calories, increases metabolism, decreases hunger, and stimulates digestion. And you thought that chillis were just for spicing up food!

My mother is 74 and her hearing is deteriorating. It’s causing problems for the whole family. What should we do?
Frank, Donegal

Hearing loss is a serious issue: there are safety issues such as hearing smoke alarms etc, but everyday tasks like answering the phone also become difficult. And it’s distressing for the family to see a loved one in difficulty.

You’ve probably already noticed some early indications of hearing loss: TV very loud, not responding when called or asking people to repeat themselves.

First, your mum should see her GP to determine the cause. It’s probably age-related, but she should be checked for any underlying medical condition. She should then have a hearing test to see if she needs a hearing aid. Hidden Hearing offers tests free of charge.

I’ve played in bands for the last ten years and listen to music on my iPod for two to three hours a day. Should I be concerned about my hearing? Surely I’m too young to suffer hearing loss?
Phil (27), Glasnevin, Dublin 9

Unfortunately hearing loss is increasing among the under-30s, many cases being noise-induced hearing loss.

A recent study by Hidden Hearing found that over half of MP3 users listen to their players at a level above 80dB and one in five has the volume at 100dB or more. That is the equivalent of hearing a pneumatic drill 10 feet away! Hidden Hearing is seeing a big increase in the number of people under 30 suffering from hearing loss that would be typical in a 70 year old.

My advice is to follow the 60/60 rule – only listen to your personal music device at 60% of its maximum volume for up to 60 minutes a day. You should also consider wearing earplugs during concerts or when playing with your band.

Are diabetics more likely to suffer from hearing loss than non-diabetics? I was diagnosed as diabetic 18 months ago. Should I get my hearing checked?
Karen (29), Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford

Diabetics run a serious risk of early hearing loss. A recent study showed that diabetics were more than twice as likely to suffer hearing loss as non-diabetics. The study, with the majority of the participants having type 2 Diabetes, also disclosed hearing impairments from as early as ages 30 to 40. Have regular hearing tests to make sure you don’t develop a hearing problem.

My 58 year old father has recently complained about a constant ringing noise in his ears. In general his hearing is quite good. Could he be suffering from something like tinnitus?
Carol, Balbriggan, Co. Dublin

What you describe could well be Tinnitus. People suffering from the condition usually describe it as a ringing, buzzing or whistling noise. It’s surprisingly common, with 18% of the population reporting it at some stage in their lives.

It can be caused by excessive exposure to loud music or noise, or something as simple as a build up of ear-wax. He should consult his GP who may refer him to an audiologist for a hearing test or to an Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist for further investigation. While there is no medication for tinnitus, other treatments can effectively alleviate it. Hearing aids are one of the options which can provide acoustic stimulation to the nerve pathways in the ear so that, over time, the tinnitus may become less bothersome even when hearing aids aren’t worn.

I think I may need a hearing aid. Is there any financial assistance or subsidy available for pensioners who don’t qualify for the social welfare scheme?
Nora, (68), Navan, Co. Meath

Hearing tests are usually free of charge, so it won’t cost anything to have an audiologist check your hearing. Hidden Hearing offers free hearing tests at each of its 60 clinics nationwide and they will also be offering free tests in their mobile hearing clinic during Hearing Awareness Week.

If you have paid PRSI, you can still receive significant help when buying a private hearing aid. This grant did not change during the last budget and can be worth up to €1,520 per person. Also, if you pay income tax, you may be able to claim the cost or your hearing aid against tax.

For more information or to book a free hearing test, call 1800 882 884
or visit www.hiddenhearing.ie

A Kind Man by Susan Hill
Susan Hill’s, A Kind Man (Chatto and Windus), is, as you’d expect, a tightly written expression of the author’s style that rarely uses two words when one will do, and is a trusted method which has previously reaped rewards with Booker long – and short-listed highlights such as I’m The King of the Castle, The Lost Man and Bird of Night. This particular study of wife and husband, Eve and Tommy Carr, and their struggle with the loss of their only child, Jeannie Eliza, is a softly written novella about love, repression, the acceptability of one’s circumstances and the bleak and desperate choices that life affords. While its title is significant, it’s also a sad and uncompromising morality tale that turns on the fallout of a miracle and the dilemma and consequences of accepting a wage for the power of healing.

Pulse by Julian Barnes
A minor character, Arthur George, in A Kind Man, brings us to Julian Barnes and Pulse, whose previous book Arthur and George was nominated for the Man Booker in 2005. This time around in 14 short stories, Barnes’s focus is on the ironic, middle-class English life suffocating in its own familiar milieu, dabbling out into the world of Polish waitresses, Italian vineyards, family breakdown, death and the mystery of women – to men. While Barnes has been on better form in the past, and his short-story style will open debate to its brilliance or suitability to the genre, this is still a worthwhile exploration of the mundane everyday (suitability of the bendy buses to London streets) to the more politically worrying (will al-Qaeda attack the London 2012 Olympics?) Incidentally, for those who judge a book by its cover, its jacket is remarkably similar to Tom McCarthy’s experimental novel, C, that was Booker nominated last year.

Give Me Your Heart  by Joyce Carol Oates
Sticking with short stories, Joyce Carol Oates’ Give Me Your Heart (Corvus) is a 10-story collection dealing with issues of obsession, self-destruction, jealousy, personal reckless endangerment and worries that may or may not be real, among other emotions only waiting to be stirred. Now in her early 70s, Oates remains prolific, adding to her 70-odd books, this time as uncompromising and disturbing as before, unsettling what is normally your moral compass, opening doors to disturbance, and fiddling around with all sorts of insecurities that hide in the minds of most of her readers.

Monsieur Pain by Roberto Bolaño
Roberto Bolaño’s Monsieur Pain (Picador) is an impish instalment from the Chilean author who died in 2003, whose many works, including the brilliant The Savage Detectives and 2666, have now been, posthumously, translated into English. Set in the Paris of 1938, it tells the story of mesmerist Pierre Pain who is consulted by Madame Reynaud – whom Pain is in love with – to cure her friend’s husband, the sick Peruvian poet César Vallejo, who cannot stop hiccupping. Full of illusion, extravagated metaphors, and the threat of something darker, Bolaño’s snapshot spy-thriller take on pre-war Paris is overshadowed by the excesses to come and the sinister forces overflowing from Franco’s Spain. In short, classic Bolaño: well written, uncompromisingly mysterious and ethereally dreamy.

The Invention of Murder – How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime by Judith Flanders’
Into the realm of non-fiction, Judith Flanders’ The Invention of Murder – How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime (Harper Press) is a fascinating investigation of Victorian curiosity with the specifics of murder and how the perpetrators might eventually be caught, tried and hanged. While mildly shocking, the narrative sucks you in from the beginning and from the comfort and safety of 21st century modernity and the locked doors and security alarms that go with it. Delving into the famous murders involving Jack-the-Ripper, among others, and intertwining stories from Ainsworth, Collins, Conan Doyle, Dickens and Stevenson, it’s also a well researched and chilling bag-of-tricks for crime writers looking for inspiration, if inspiration were needed, and other crime-followers who love a good yarn.

The Arabian Leopard, smallest and rarest of all leopards, is on the critically endangered list. Editor and wildlife vet, Maurice O’Scanaill, tells his tale!

The Arabian Leopard, the smallest and rarest of all leopards, is on the critically endangered list. Apart from being paler, and just half the size of African leopards, the nimr has different habits. For starters, it doesn’t drag its kill into trees. There are no trees, but also, its prey can be as small as birds, insects and lizards so it is often eaten in minutes. Besides, there are no bigger predators to rob it; in its tiny world, the nimr is king.

Top Priority
Despite the obstacles, we hurry. The leopard has already been in direct sun for too long. The trap needs to be in the open, visible to the observer perched precariously, for weeks now, on a high ledge almost a mile away. My orders from the minister, are clear: ‘Tabib (‘doctor’). When you get nimr call, go at once to Military Airport. Even if you are doing an operation!’ Luckily, I never had to make that difficult decision. But it has top priority. We’re a hundred feet up before I get my seat-belt fastened.

In the arid Arabian Penisula, only the Dhofar region is blessed annually by the Khareef, the outer edge of the monsoon. The Khareef doesn’t actually stretch this far inland but there are very infrequent torrential flash-floods and, in those wadis so narrow and deep that their floors never directly feel the merciless sun, dwindling rock-pools persist between flash-floods, enabling little ecosystems to survive, with the nimr as top predator.

In sight of the trap, we stop. Gauging the size and weight of a moving spotted creature through a 1.5″ iron mesh is difficult, but critical; I must get my anaesthetic mixture right: too little and we’ll have to just let the groggy nimr go (you can’t keep topping up); too much and I wipe out a significant percentage of the world’s tiny population. With no precedents, I use the same cocktail as for a domestic moggy, only seven times more; I use highly-concentrated drugs as they must fit into a tiny dart. Eventually, loaded and ready, we approach the trap, split up, and while Andrew distracts the nimr at one end, I sneak up behind, put the blow-pipe through the mesh and blow sharply. The dart hits home, and we withdraw. Five minutes later, our nimr is lying asleep, but right in the middle of the trap, facing the opening. So who’s going to crawl in and haul him out by the scruff of the neck? Maybe he’s just lightly sedated, ready to explode into furious life the instant he’s disturbed? In the end, I devise a very unscientific but effective method of gauging the level of anaesthesia – I navigate a long stick through the mesh and repeatedly prod him about the head. Getting no reaction, I pronounce it safe for ‘someone’ (the others have now arrived) to go in and haul him out, but eventually I am required to put my money where my mouth is and do it myself.

Getting Physical
The rest is easy. Rushing him into shade, I begin: overall examination, general health assessment; temperature, heart-rate, respirations; numerous blood samples, skin-biopsy, faecal sample. In the meantime, Andrew is weighing, measuring, photographing spot-patterns (the fingerprints of the leopard world) while my friend, Richard Ward, the wildlife artist (who just happened to be visiting for a few days from Ireland) sketches and photographs.

An hour later, we sit and, from a safe distance, watch my patient, now with a tracking collar fitted, amble groggily off into the sparse, dry brush.

The menopause is associated with reduced functioning of the ovaries, resulting in lower levels of oestrogen being produced. It is not an illness. Nature intended the menopause to be a steady decline; oestrogen and progesterone secretion from the ovaries decline, while fat cells and the adrenal glands continue to produce oestrogen and oestrone (a form of oestrogen), respectively.

Whilst some women will go through the menopause without any symptoms, others report hot flushes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, mood swings, declining libido, ageing skin, lack of energy, joint pains and weight gain. These symptoms may be triggered by a variety of other health conditions, so investigate whether there is another cause.

A well-balanced diet, nutrients and herbs enable the body to adjust to the hormone changes. One of the most significant dietary recommendations of menopause is to decrease the amount of animal foods and increase the amount of plant foods, especially those high in phytoestrogens (natural plant oestrogens). Examples of these foods include soy beans, miso paste, tofu, legumes (chickpeas, lentils etc.), brown rice, flaxseed, nuts, oats, rye, barley, apples, celery, fennel, parsley and alfalfa. Regulating blood sugar levels is also important in the management of any hormone imbalance, particularly alongside symptoms such as mood swings. So eat little and often, include some protein (fish, beans, lentils, nuts and seeds, tofu and some lean meat) in each meal and snack, and avoid all sugar containing foods including ‘diet’, ‘low-sugar’ products and alcohol. Through their role in oestrogen and energy production the adrenal glands provide back up during the menopause, so reduce stress and limit your caffeine intake. To discuss your symptoms and a nutrition programme to support your specific needs talk to your health care professional.

Spinach, Aubergine and Chickpea Curry

Heat half the olive oil in a large pan and cook the onion, garlic,
chilli, ginger and spices for five minutes over a medium heat.

Add the remaining olive oil and the aubergine. Cook for ten minutes,
stirring often, until the aubergine is coloured.

Add the carrots, tomatoes and a pinch of salt, then cover the pan,
lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
Stir in the chickpeas, spinach and coriander. Allow spinach to wilt.
Serve with brown rice.

Carrot, Oat and Prune Cake

100g oats
100g walnuts, roughly chopped
120g whole wheat spelt flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
220g/2 large carrots, grated
1 tbsp molasses
200g prunes, chopped
40g finely shredded coconut
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
150ml of orange juice

Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease a spring-form cake tin. Pulse oats and walnuts in a
food processor until finely ground. Transfer to a large bowl. Add flour, baking powder,
baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt and mix well.

In a second large bowl, combine carrots, molasses, prunes, coconut, vanilla and
orange juice. Add carrot mixture to flour mixture and stir until completely incorporated.

Transfer to prepared pan and bake until cooked through and deep golden brown, about
45 minutes to 1 hour. Set aside to let cool.

Tuna Miso Soup

Miso is a fermented soya bean paste. Don’t worry – it tastes far better than it sounds!
Think of it here as stock for soup, except that you don’t boil it, you add it in at the end
for flavour. This soup would work with salmon, chicken or tofu, too.

3 tsp of brown rice miso
800ml of boiling water
1 garlic clove, finely sliced
1” cube of ginger, finely sliced
¼ to ½ chilli, finely sliced
1 small carrot, cut into batons
2 scallions, finely sliced
Handful of spinach leaves or bok choi (finely, sliced)
1 tbsp of seaweed flakes
Juice of ½ lime
Small handful of coriander
Small handful of rice noodles
1 tuna steak, cut into strips

Add boiling water to a small saucepan. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli, carrot, scallions and
noodles. Bring to boil and simmer for two minutes. Add spinach, seaweed, tuna strips and
cook for 30 seconds to a minute (until the tuna is just cooked). Stir in the miso, lime juice
and coriander.

Nanook says NO to NAMA.

Fed up with crashing western eco-nomies, toxic bank loans, rampant unemployment and hard-hearted mortgage lenders? Wondering will your kids ever get a roof over their heads? Well come with me and see how one highly-resourceful race coped with housing, and cold we can hardly imagine, not too long ago.

In the 1922 documentary, ‘Nanook of the North’, Nanook demonstrates how the Inuit built igloos in winter in the frozen Arctic wastes. Using an ivory knife to cut blocks of frozen snow, of the correct texture of course, it took him about one hour to build an igloo big enough for five people. A man could stand on top of a well-built igloo without damaging it. Now you might think that igloos were pretty cold places to live in and that by spring most Inuit were wandering around half-crazy from hypothermia, but no. They used flaps of animal fur as doors and blocked off the sunken entrance tunnel with more blocks when the storms came. They built raised ledges for sleeping because heat rises. What heat, you might ask? Prepare to be shocked. Interior temperature of a well-built igloo could rise to 16°C, simply from body heat, because snow blocks are such good insulators. And Nanook never heard of negative equity!

Nanook says YES to Scarsdale.

Then there was the infamous diet; high in protein and fat, lots of raw meat, very little fruit and veg during the long Arctic winter. How could you be healthy eating that stuff? What about ‘Five-a-day’ fruit and veg? How come they didn’t all die of scurvy? Or heart disease? Or kidney failure? Or gross Vitamin D deficiency leading to bone disease because they got so little exposure to the sun all winter? Fact is, they didn’t. They did cook some meat but most of it was eaten raw and it turns out that you get plenty of Vitamins A, C and D in raw meat. Cooking destroys those. As for heart disease, well the Inuit really only started suffering that when they adopted western civilisation’s unhealthy eating habits. Their original diet had plenty of monounsaturated fats and omega 3 stuff. And one big argument for following diets like Scarsdale, Atkins and Protein Power is that people like the Inuit lived very active healthy lives on similar diets.

Doctor! I’m late!

The long dark winters played havoc with Mrs Nanook’s periods. Clinics in the Arctic reported many requests for pregnancy tests in winter from women who had missed two or three periods, but about half the tests done turned out to be negative. Why? We know that climate affects the monthly cycle, as in Don’t-Depend-On-The-Rhythm-Method-During-Your-Two-Weeks-In-Lanzarote-Darling. Some scientists blame high cortisol levels for Mrs Nanook’s irregularities, the high levels being possibly in response to the extreme environment.

Kill what you eat

The Inuit certainly did not rape their natural surroundings. No mass killings of seal or walrus, no fertilisers during the summer, not much wood or oil burning. They lived in harmony with the environment. No trading in oil futures or genetically-modified crops for the Inuit. A tribe could live for a year on a young whale. That’s a huge animal to preserve, but it helps when you actually live in the deep-freeze.

It’s all gone now, of course. The Inuit and other tribes of the far North have all settled down and adopted white man’s habits like alcoholism, drug abuse, unhealthy diets and sedentary life-styles, becoming much less healthy as a result.

A shame because if they were still up there living the way they used to, we could have learned useful things from them as we struggle to adapt to post-capitalist life.

At first light, two wranglers mount up and ride off over the ridge in opposite directions. We get busy putting out the grain and, before long, the unmistakable sound of a hundred horses galloping closer begins to grow louder and louder. When they are all corralled, the wranglers catch and halter them, one by one. We all stand and wait outside the gate until we are handed a rope with a horse at the end of it. We take the horse, tie it up to let it eat, and go back to the gate to take another one.

When every horse has been fed and checked, and the ones that need any kind of treatment or medicine have been looked after, those that will not be used that day are released. The horses we will ride are taken down and tied up by the tack room. The next job is to groom and saddle your horse. The wranglers are fussy about how you saddle up. A slight crease in the saddle pad or an uneven fold in a blanket is a big deal when you add a 70lb saddle, the weight of an adult and a long – maybe hot – day’s work. They watch closely, making minor adjustments, patiently explaining what goes where, and why.

Once the horses are taken care of, we eat breakfast.  By now, we have been up for about two hours and the smell of bacon and coffee drifting from the house is tantalising. Breakfast is very welcome. This is a typical morning when you’re part of the Croí Cowboy Challenge at the Colorado Cattle Company; an early start (no matter what the weather) to see to the horses, followed by a wonderful leisurely breakfast.

The Colorado Cattle Company is a 10,000-acre working cattle ranch almost 3 hours north east of Denver and, like any farm, the work to be done is dictated by the weather, the season and, most importantly, the cattle. Nothing is set in stone here. There is no fixed schedule or program of events. The only certainties are great food, comfortable accommodation, amazingly warm people, hard work, daily challenges and the adventure of a lifetime.

The Head Wrangler is in charge of making sure that whatever needs to be done gets done. Over breakfast he tells us his plans for the day. You quickly learn that every plan is negotiable and can be changed in an instant if he gets news of a broken fence, an injured animal or a storm. The ability to be flexible, to go with the flow and to take life as it comes is vital to your enjoyment of this challenge. It’s the real laid-back cowboy mentality. What has to be done, gets done. What doesn’t get done can wait.

We might set off to check those 200 yearlings on Far Side and find, half way there, that some heifers have broken through a fence and are now in with the cows and calves, so we change direction and deal with that. There is a lot of time spent on horseback and a lot of cattle work. The pace is varied; sometimes a slow walk over rough or hilly terrain, sometimes a fast gallop. Every level of rider is catered for without any drama. If you want to walk everywhere, that’s perfectly fine. If you prefer a faster pace, whenever possible you’ll be accommodated.  Previous horse-riding experience is not essential because the Colorado Cattle Company is set up to deal with riders of all levels. All you really need is the willingness to get stuck in and to try everything at least once!

This is a very physical challenge. The journey from Ireland is long and tough and the work on the ranch is demanding – a holiday it most certainly is not! – but if you’ve ever once wondered what it would be like to live and work like a real cowboy, the Croí Cowboy Challenge will provide the answer – in glorious technicolour! The next trip is in May 2011!