Would it be possible for you to rotate the tree in a to the left about 45*? You don't want to do anything now but there is nothing wrong with contemplating things to come. Take notes because you may not remember what revelation came to you next year when it becomes time to do something with them.
The first tree is going to have to have one of the major lower branches removed. I can see reasons for one or the other to go depending on the styling you have in mind. Remember here. Don't go through the style by the number books but think tree Daniel San. I know that's corny but it is true. If you have watched my videos from this last year you know that I do my work from the ground up. I examine the trunk and then I look the branches to see how they all work together to create something that pleases me.
As to those two branches; lets look at the options and the problems. As the tree stands now without changing the trunk the first branch on the left occupies an inside curve and as such should be removed. (don't do this.) This shows you how the rules can screw you up. The first branch on the right is almost as large as the trunk above and below it and it does not have much in the way of secondary branches that you can utilize to shorten the branch. Therefor it should be removed;---- technically. Here again; don't let the rules screw you up. Just use the rules to consider what you see. You might get it to back bud but it will always have a girth that is too large for the rest of the tree. So what to do???
What I would do, or at least consider, is losing that branch on the right in either case. I would then apply some heavy wire over a rafia layer on the trunk to preserve the trunk. I would bend the entire trunk down to the right making that first branch on the left more dominant to the design. It is also possible to slice the trunk on the inside curve and using a guide wire to tork it down. This can only be done in June when the tree is really active. Depending on how this looks and the other branches on that limb, I may consider regrowing the entire tree from that one branch. BUT do not do all of this, all at once.
Remove the right branch and wire down the trunk this next year. Give that branch (the little one on the left on the inside of the curve) time to really start pumping, then decide if you want to remove the rest of the tree above that branch. All of a sudden that dead trunk takes on new and beautiful significance. What was once a branch that by the rules should be removed becomes the new apes and rest of the tree. This is the way it is with Mugos. Sometimes the design boils down to removing a lot of growth and leaving what is artistically pleasing. This tree could be a show stopper.
