Pruning my apple tree

Here's my apple tree. It's awesome. This was taken a couple of weeks ago. Nearly all the apples have been harvested now. As you can see, it's gone a bit crazy. Any advice on how and when to prune it? The lowest branches hang down and rest on the floor when they're weighed down with fruit. This creates a bit of a problem that slugs can easily reach the lowest apples, so I might chop all the lowest branches off. But even further up it's just a crazy bush, like my hair used to be in the morning, when it still grew

 

Wait until the tree is dormant, Dec/Jan/Feb. It's much easier to see what you're doing when the leaves are off. Cut or saw cleanly to a main branch, rather than trimming the ends of branches all over. It helps to know whether it's a spur-bearing variety or a tip-bearer! This link might be helpful...Apples and pears: winter pruning / RHS Gardening

 

You can prune and train them too into many shapes, if you have it next to a fence then cordon or espallier or fan etc can all be done. I grew mine as cordons as that means a row can be really narrow which suited the space I had.

 

I reckon I'm going to get it wrong. So I need to keep it simple. Can I just cut off the lowest branches, and then cut off any branches that cross each other?

 

I think it would be possible to shorten trailing branches back to 1 bud below last years growth. Decide on the required shape and prune back to create that shape. Wait for a year to finally 'take control'
See:
Apples and pears: pruning made easy / RHS Gardening

 

No you won't! Nature's very forgiving.... Yes, cut off the lowest branches if they're a nuisance. Yes, cut out crossing branches. Once you've done that, you'll be able to see whether you need to take out any growth from the centre. You're supposed to be able to throw a hat up through the middle without it catching on anything