--- activerecord-2.3.8/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/postgresql_adapter.rb.orig	2010-09-08 13:41:46.000000000 -0400
+++ activerecord-2.3.8/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/postgresql_adapter.rb	2010-09-08 13:42:39.000000000 -0400
@@ -407,6 +407,9 @@ module ActiveRecord
 
       # Quotes column names for use in SQL queries.
       def quote_column_name(name) #:nodoc:
+        unless PGconn.respond_to?(:quote_ident)
+           raise 'Your PostgreSQL connection does not support quote_ident. Try upgrading pg.'
+        end
         PGconn.quote_ident(name.to_s)
       end