1 files changed, 11 insertions, 1 deletions
diff --git a/activerecord/lib/active_record/fixtures/file.rb b/activerecord/lib/active_record/fixtures/file.rb
index 04f494db2c..6bad36abb9 100644
--- a/activerecord/lib/active_record/fixtures/file.rb
+++ b/activerecord/lib/active_record/fixtures/file.rb
@@ -29,11 +29,21 @@ module ActiveRecord
         rows.each(&block)
       end
 
+      RESCUE_ERRORS = [ ArgumentError ] # :nodoc:
+
       private
+      if defined?(Psych) && defined?(Psych::SyntaxError)
+        RESCUE_ERRORS << Psych::SyntaxError
+      end
+
       def rows
         return @rows if @rows
 
-        data = YAML.load(render(IO.read(@file)))
+        begin
+          data = YAML.load(render(IO.read(@file)))
+        rescue *RESCUE_ERRORS => error
+          raise Fixture::FormatError, "a YAML error occurred parsing #{@file}. Please note that YAML must be consistently indented using spaces. Tabs are not allowed. Please have a look at http://www.yaml.org/faq.html\nThe exact error was:\n  #{error.class}: #{error}", error.backtrace
+        end
         @rows = data ? validate(data).to_a : []
       end