diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/taggable.py b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/taggable.py
index 56b4f9d82..d174c16a6 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/taggable.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/taggable.py
@@ -21,10 +21,6 @@ class TagSearchable(index.Indexed):
         ]),
     ], name='search_fields on TagSearchable subclasses')
 
-    @classmethod
-    def get_indexed_objects(cls):
-        return super(TagSearchable, cls).get_indexed_objects().prefetch_related('tagged_items__tag')
-
     @classmethod
     def popular_tags(cls):
         content_type = ContentType.objects.get_for_model(cls)
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailimages/tests/test_models.py b/wagtail/wagtailimages/tests/test_models.py
index 58a715d68..146e69ad2 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailimages/tests/test_models.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailimages/tests/test_models.py
@@ -132,6 +132,21 @@ class TestImageQuerySet(TestCase):
         results = Image.objects.order_by('-title').search("Test")
         self.assertEqual(list(results), [zzz_image, aaa_image])
 
+    def test_search_indexing_prefetches_tags(self):
+        for i in range(0, 10):
+            image = Image.objects.create(
+                title="Test image %d" % i,
+                file=get_test_image_file(),
+            )
+            image.tags.add('aardvark', 'artichoke', 'armadillo')
+
+        with self.assertNumQueries(2):
+            results = {
+                image.title: [tag.name for tag in image.tags.all()]
+                for image in Image.get_indexed_objects()
+            }
+            self.assertTrue('aardvark' in results['Test image 0'])
+
 
 class TestImagePermissions(TestCase):
     def setUp(self):