Comment 110 for bug 459647

Here is my workaround.

1)
create a file in the folder of the Icon theme you want to use and name it
cursor.theme and put the following it it.
[Icon Theme]
Inherits=NameOfTheme

2)
type the following at the command line.
$ sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/share/icons/default/index.theme x-cursor-theme path/to/cursor.theme

3)
type the following
sudo update-alternatives --config x-cursor-theme
then chose the theme you want to use.