diff --git a/spec/pg/decoder_spec.cr b/spec/pg/decoder_spec.cr
index 1e75b014..4a0c87d0 100644
--- a/spec/pg/decoder_spec.cr
+++ b/spec/pg/decoder_spec.cr
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 require "uuid"
+# Extensions must be loaded before spec_helper connects to the DB
+require "../../src/pg/extensions/citext"
 require "../spec_helper"
 
 describe PG::Decoders do
@@ -92,4 +94,15 @@ describe PG::Decoders do
   test_decode "path ", "'(1,2,3,4)'::path ", PG::Geo::Path.new([PG::Geo::Point.new(1.0, 2.0), PG::Geo::Point.new(3.0, 4.0)], closed: true)
   test_decode "path ", "'[1,2,3,4,5,6]'::path", PG::Geo::Path.new([PG::Geo::Point.new(1.0, 2.0), PG::Geo::Point.new(3.0, 4.0), PG::Geo::Point.new(5.0, 6.0)], closed: false)
   test_decode "polygon", "'1,2,3,4,5,6'::polygon", PG::Geo::Polygon.new([PG::Geo::Point.new(1.0, 2.0), PG::Geo::Point.new(3.0, 4.0), PG::Geo::Point.new(5.0, 6.0)])
+
+  it "decodes extension types on a per-connection basis" do
+    PG_DB.exec "CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS citext"
+    PG_DB.query "select 'OMG lol'::citext" do |rs|
+      rs.each do
+        text = rs.read
+        text.should be_a PG::CIText
+        text.should eq "omg LOL"
+      end
+    end
+  end
 end
diff --git a/src/pg/connection.cr b/src/pg/connection.cr
index c84cad92..2f637e5e 100644
--- a/src/pg/connection.cr
+++ b/src/pg/connection.cr
@@ -1,12 +1,22 @@
+require "./decoder"
 require "../pq/*"
 
 module PG
   class Connection < ::DB::Connection
     protected getter connection
 
+    private EXTENSIONS = [] of Extension
+
+    def self.register_extension(extension : Extension)
+      EXTENSIONS << extension
+    end
+
     def initialize(context)
       super
       @connection = uninitialized PQ::Connection
+      @decoders = Hash(Int32, Decoders::Decoder).new do |_, oid|
+        Decoders.from_oid(oid)
+      end
 
       begin
         conn_info = PQ::ConnInfo.new(context.uri)
@@ -15,6 +25,25 @@ module PG
       rescue ex
         raise DB::ConnectionRefused.new(cause: ex)
       end
+
+      auto_release = @auto_release
+      @auto_release = false
+      begin
+        EXTENSIONS.each(&.load(self))
+      ensure
+        @auto_release = auto_release
+      end
+    end
+
+    def register_decoder(decoder : Decoders::Decoder)
+      decoder.oids.each do |oid|
+        @decoders[oid] = decoder
+      end
+    end
+
+    @checked_oids = Set(Int32).new
+    def decoder(oid)
+      @decoders[oid]
     end
 
     def build_prepared_statement(query) : Statement
diff --git a/src/pg/extensions.cr b/src/pg/extensions.cr
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..be47ad1b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/pg/extensions.cr
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+module PG
+  module Extension
+    abstract def load(connection : Connection)
+  end
+end
diff --git a/src/pg/extensions/citext.cr b/src/pg/extensions/citext.cr
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..79e5e63b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/pg/extensions/citext.cr
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+require "../../pg"
+
+module PG
+  module Extension
+    # This extension adds support for decoding the Postgres `citext` type.
+    class CIText
+      include Extension
+
+      def load(connection)
+        oid = connection.query_one "SELECT oid FROM pg_type WHERE typname = 'citext'", as: UInt32
+        connection.register_decoder Decoder.new([oid.to_i])
+      end
+
+      struct Decoder
+        include Decoders::Decoder
+
+        getter oids : Array(Int32)
+
+        def initialize(@oids : Array(Int32))
+        end
+
+        def decode(io, bytesize, oid)
+          PG::CIText.new(Decoders::StringDecoder.new.decode(io, bytesize, oid))
+        end
+
+        def type
+          PG::CIText
+        end
+      end
+    end
+
+    Connection.register_extension CIText.new
+  end
+
+  struct CIText
+    def initialize(text : String)
+      @text = text
+    end
+
+    def hash(hasher)
+      @text.hash(hasher)
+    end
+
+    def ==(other : self)
+      self == other.@text
+    end
+
+    def ==(other : String)
+      @text.compare(other, case_insensitive: true)
+    end
+
+    def to_s
+      @text
+    end
+
+    def to_s(io)
+      @text.to_s io
+    end
+  end
+end
+
+class String
+  def ==(other : PG::CIText)
+    other == self
+  end
+end
diff --git a/src/pg/result_set.cr b/src/pg/result_set.cr
index e37a1514..8340b144 100644
--- a/src/pg/result_set.cr
+++ b/src/pg/result_set.cr
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ class PG::ResultSet < ::DB::ResultSet
   end
 
   private def decoder(index = @column_index)
-    Decoders.from_oid(oid(index))
+    statement.connection.decoder(oid(index))
   end
 
   private def oid(index = @column_index)