diff --git a/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Model.php b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Model.php
index e23c1880e3bb..960ccdb7edb2 100644
--- a/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Model.php
+++ b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Model.php
@@ -379,6 +379,21 @@ public function load($relations)
         return $this;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Eager load relations on the model if they are not already eager loaded.
+     *
+     * @param  array|string  $relations
+     * @return $this
+     */
+    public function loadIfNotLaded($relations)
+    {
+        $relations = is_string($relations) ? func_get_args() : $relations;
+
+        return $this->load(array_filter($relations, function ($relation) {
+            return ! $this->relationLoaded($relation);
+        }));
+    }
+
     /**
      * Increment a column's value by a given amount.
      *