I always take the exposure to prevailing winds into consideration when advising different types of pruning jobs.
Dr. Ed Gilman has done some good work with crown reduction pruning of trees exposed to hurricane force winds (
http://www.isa-arbor.com/related/ re...ePaper2007.pdf -)
Trees have been evolving over millions of years. They generally prefer keeping their low branches keeping their center of gravity low. Raising low limbs, changing wind patterns around trees, cutting roots, over irrigating, etc. all become problems in the long run that can cause the tree to fail.
Mechanically balancing the tree should always be a part of a good pruning job.
A live oak we recently worked on with 70% root loss was cabled to the ground to prevent wind throw. The cables were installed 2 days prior to 75 mph wind gusts experienced during a spring storm. The tree is still standing 2 years later. (Photo shows only one side cabled to ground - a similar arrangement was installed on the opposite side of the tree.)