making an apple hedge

when i was little we lived in a house with a long apple hedge. Now I'm getting on a bit, i want to make one. So far I've planted a row of young apple trees, just 5, each with a strong post. They are now 3 years old, and have started to fruit, but I've not started to train them yet. I suppose I need to train the laterals along wires, but they seem to be growing up rather than out. The tallest is about 6 feet now. Should I cut the leading apical bud off and wait for new side shoots?
Can't find any information out there, hope someone has some tips!

Thanks

Ariadae

 

Do you mean like this....espaliered?






I found a youtube link, I don't know what it's like though

 

We used to have espalier apple trees in the garden where I grew up. Very nice, but very labour intensive. The trees don't like being that shape, and fight like tigers to be a more natural shape. Something more informal might be easier to live with.

 

The picture is not espalier. They are fan trained. Espaliers have tiers of branches that run parallel to the ground.
Espalier and cordons are quite easy to train and prune but take time to develop the shape. If training you need to start with maidens and only choose varieties that are spur bearing. It is just a matter of setting up a system of posts and wires and training the main shoots up canes. The main pruning is done in summer and is simply a matter of shortening the different types of shoot.
I am training a row of double cordons along my veg plot.