Has anyone tried pruning a Taxus Baccata 'Fastigiata Aurea' (golden Irish
yew)?

I have two of these very noble plants, one each side of my pond. I am sure
that they both came from the same original source, about ten years ago, and
they are both about 6ft high, but one is narrow and elegant while the other
is twice as wide, fat, and obese! (This one is probably true to form,
according to the text books.)

The fat one has very many more vertical branches, as you might suspect, and
I would have thought that a lot of them could be successfully removed
without harming the plant. Has anyone any experience of this?

Eric