diff --git a/Rakefile b/Rakefile
index b9a96089..787cd4d7 100644
--- a/Rakefile
+++ b/Rakefile
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
-require 'appraisal'
+begin
+  require 'appraisal'
+rescue LoadError
+  puts 'Appraisal not available'
+end
 Dir['tasks/**/*.rake'].each { |rake| load rake }
 task :default => :spec