A good bowing technique is one of the most important traits of a good fiddle player, and way too often overlooked. Maybe I can pass on a few things that I've learned.
First of all, although it's pretty obvious that you do hold the bow with your fingers, it should be clear that they ultimately decide the direction, the pressure, and angle of the bow. So always, as a general rule, try to keep ALL of your fingers (including your thumb) flexed at all times. This also includes the left hand, but we'll get there later. To do this, you'll need a certain amount of strength in your pinky, which 3 out of 4 people don't have. This does not mean you should not play the violin, or, that you should ignore this rule. It means you'll just have a little more work to do. :)
The pinky should support the bow when not on the string and while playing around the nut.
There are lots of exercises to strengthen your pinky and other fingers, but probably the best one I've found is the pinky push-up with the bow, which is explained in the video. It's also important to realize that your pinky will work better closer to your ring finger and to your hand, providing better support for the exercise itself.
A good idea is to just hold the bow without the fiddle, and see what you can do with it. Walk around with it and test your balance. Don't worry to much about it getting broken... it's not that fragile. And besides, the more it's laying around, the more you'll pick it up.
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